Ludwigia Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 I've been doing prep work for someone on and off for a couple of years who brings me a lot of ammonites from the southern German Sinemurian and Hettangian exposures. They are often quite large ammonites belonging to the family of the Arietitidae. I was working on one of them for him a while ago as it became apparent that a lot of whorls were missing, so he decided it wouldn't be worth working on it any further. I figured I might be able to make something out of it, so he gave it to me in exchange for a few hours of prep work. Here's what it looked like at that point. The missing whorls are circled in red. Also the innermost whorls are missing. I've already had some experience "faking" whorls at missing points, carving them out of the matrix using the air pen, alternating between flat chisel and point, but I knew that this job was going to take some time. I'd already spent almost 4 hours reaching the point in the photo above and then spent another 8 hours carving, modelling and doing a bit of abrading in between before reaching step 2 where that part of the job was completed more or less to my satisfaction. I needed another 6 hours of abrading to smooth everything out, with the occasional interlude in between to trim off the odd bit of excess matrix here and there. And here's the end product coated in rember. An Arietites solarium (Quenstedt 1863) with a diameter of 46cm. The whorl breadth at the aperture is 13cm. 17 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 WOW!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 Eagle-eyed fossil finder, master preparator, superb photographer, and now excellent restorer... Is there anything you can’t do, Roger? ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted February 26, 2019 Author Share Posted February 26, 2019 1 hour ago, caldigger said: WOW!!! 1 hour ago, Kane said: Eagle-eyed fossil finder, master preparator, superb photographer, and now excellent restorer... Is there anything you can’t do, Roger? I'd love to learn to draw as well as you can. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 Incredible skills! You must promise never to use your superpowers for evil. Cheers. -Ken 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted February 26, 2019 Author Share Posted February 26, 2019 3 minutes ago, digit said: Incredible skills! You must promise never to use your superpowers for evil. Cheers. -Ken Thanks Ken. Dont worry. You can keep the kryptonite in the drawer. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 great prep job "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...
Sagebrush Steve Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 Amazing work! Thanks for sharing. Although now I will never be able to look at another ammonite that is being offered for sale in quite the same light. Guess that means I will have to focus on going out and digging them myself. Not a bad option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goatinformationist Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 Wow! I know a guy who knows a guy in Morocco who would love for you to work for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted February 27, 2019 Author Share Posted February 27, 2019 7 hours ago, Herb said: great prep job Thanks Jim 7 hours ago, Sagebrush Steve said: Amazing work! Thanks for sharing. Although now I will never be able to look at another ammonite that is being offered for sale in quite the same light. Guess that means I will have to focus on going out and digging them myself. Not a bad option. Well, figure the hours I worked on it and multiply by the hourly wage and you can calculate what someone would want for this sculpture, even if they are honest about it. You're right. Digging them yourself is your best bet, but not in California 5 hours ago, goatinformationist said: Wow! I know a guy who knows a guy in Morocco who would love for you to work for him. I was just waiting for someone to make a comment like this 1 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebu Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 Amazing work, well done. 50cm diameter that's huge, what a beautiful display piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 Well done Roger. That is quite a beautiful piece from initially being garbage. Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted February 27, 2019 Author Share Posted February 27, 2019 1 hour ago, rebu said: Amazing work, well done. 50cm diameter that's huge, what a beautiful display piece. 43 minutes ago, Ptychodus04 said: Well done Roger. That is quite a beautiful piece from initially being garbage. Thanks guys 1 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daves64 Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 Would it be improper to say "You missed a spot"? Just kidding, I just couldn't resist.. Accomplishing the impossible means only that the boss will add it to your regular duties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 You have some talent my friend! RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossile Bassin Parisien Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 Very nice work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted February 27, 2019 Author Share Posted February 27, 2019 7 hours ago, daves64 said: Would it be improper to say "You missed a spot"? Just kidding, I just couldn't resist.. 5 hours ago, RJB said: You have some talent my friend! RB 5 hours ago, Fossile Bassin Parisien said: Very nice work Thanks guys Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peat Burns Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 Stunning! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted February 28, 2019 Author Share Posted February 28, 2019 6 hours ago, Peat Burns said: Stunning! Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 Nice job Roger. Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Tahan Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 Wow now that’s some dedication and experience at work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pagurus Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 It's a tired old cliche but that's a fine example of turning lemons into lemonade. Wonderful work. Start the day with a smile and get it over with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Rico Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 Beautiful work Roger that is a stunning ammonite now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted March 5, 2019 Author Share Posted March 5, 2019 4 hours ago, ynot said: Nice job Roger. 4 hours ago, Al Tahan said: Wow now that’s some dedication and experience at work! 3 hours ago, Pagurus said: It's a tired old cliche but that's a fine example of turning lemons into lemonade. Wonderful work. 1 minute ago, Bobby Rico said: Beautiful work Roger that is a stunning ammonite now. Thanks everyone. I really appreciate your appreciation Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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