misterstockwell Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 Hello all. New to the forum, but have been reading a lot here(and everywhere). In the process of building a house and have a long tall fireplace wall to fill. We had looked at everything from wood to stone to art, and then I shot down the slippery slope of fossil collecting! I have a couple questions. The space we need to fill is the upper part of a 17' fireplace, so we have more than 10' open, but of course don't have to fill that space. I have seen some really amazing palm fronds and flowers, crinoids or groups of fish that would work(but would cost a fortune). Do you have any other suggestions for something that might fill that space? My wife is more keen on plants than fish. I'd love to investigate other options. Second question--we have friends in Tucson who invited us to come visit them this winter. Would I have good luck finding something at that show? When is the best time to go? I have read that there are shows before the "big show" that might be better for what I am after. I appreciate any and all suggestions. Thanks! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 Hello, and a very warm welcome to TFF from Morocco! Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raggedy Man Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 Fish make for an amazing display when used with fireplaces. Ammonites also make for a nice display and are cheaper than palm fronds. 1 ...I'm back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Amateur Paleontologist Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 Welcome to TFF From what I heard, the Tucson show is great - I'm sure you'll find somethin' interesting! -Christian Opalised fossils are the best: a wonderful mix between paleontology and mineralogy! Q. Where do dinosaurs study? A. At Khaan Academy!... My ResearchGate profile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 Ammonites from TX would probably be cheaper than plants. I am sure some of the TX people might have some to sell. Going to take a lot of them though "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 How handy are you? You can always slightly texture the wall similar to split shale, paint it to resemble Green River shale and paint your own fish and palm fronds onto it so as to emulate those gastly expensive pieces you will be seeing in Tucson. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sagebrush Steve Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 Yes, the Tuscon show is fabulous, you will certainly find many nice things there. Remember that the Tuscon "show" is really dozens of separate shows, each with their own specialties. Not all of them have fossils but plenty of them do. Do a search on this forum for "Tuscon show" and there will be lots of posts, some with many photos of what you will see. I went last year and picked up some nice specimens, although nothing as large as what you will be looking for. I went toward the end of the two weeks and there were still lots of nice things. I was able to bargain for some good prices from sellers who didn't want to take all that heavy stuff back home. Here's a link I found to the 2019 show: https://xpopress.com/showcase/profile/1/tucson-gem-mineral-fossil-showcase 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 A couple of my buddies commercially dig Green River fish, palm fronds, etc. They'd probably be happy to sell some things ahead of Tucson. If interested, feel free to PM me and I'll put you in contact. Here is my fireplace. We don't light many fires. 1 Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 What, you dont like to move everything whenever you want to snuggle before the embers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterstockwell Posted November 14, 2018 Author Share Posted November 14, 2018 Thanks for all the responses and warm welcomes! Caldigger--I am handy, but not artsy + handy. I couldn't pull off faux fossil very well. Uncle Siphuncle--will PM you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sagebrush Steve Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 20 hours ago, caldigger said: How handy are you? You can always slightly texture the wall similar to split shale, paint it to resemble Green River shale and paint your own fish and palm fronds onto it so as to emulate those gastly expensive pieces you will be seeing in Tucson. Or he can stop by the Moroccan booths in Tucson and find the painted fish and painted palm fronds already waiting for him. (With apologies to @Tidgy's Dad, I don’t want to paint all people who live in Morocco with the same brush, so to speak. ). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 28 minutes ago, Sagebrush Steve said: Or he can stop by the Moroccan booths in Tucson and find the painted fish and painted palm fronds already waiting for him. (With apologies to @Tidgy's Dad, I don’t want to paint all people who live in Morocco with the same brush, so to speak. ). That's fine, Steve, I probably painted half of them myself............... And there's quite a lot of painted Green River stuff out there as well! 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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