Dinosaurs Without Bones is Happening in Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Our morning in Tuscaloosa began with listening to an interview with Tony Martin on Alabama Public Radio. Paleontologist Barbie was thrilled to hear all the questions Tony was asked about his book, Dinosaurs Without Bones.

On the UA campus with a colleague Tony Martin is escorted to the Department of Geological Sciences to have important pale ontological discussions.

Discovery of a teaching rock garden! Isn't travel fun?

Yes to a big block of calcite! And all the other slabs of rock here! How wonderful to have the opportunity to learn about our precious Earth!

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PALEONTOLOGIST BARBIE BECOMES OUR MEME: THE MARRIAGE OF THE SCIENTIST AND ARTIST CREATES INTERVIEWS WITH PALEONTOLOGIST BARBIE

COLLABORATIVE WORK FROM THE MARRIAGE OF THE SCIENTIST AND ARTIST

 COLLABORATION OF A SCIENTIST AND AN ARTIST.  In 2011,  my Chiboogamoo and I collaborated on the five blogs you see below. I gave Chiboogamoo Paleontologist Barbie for Christmas 2010, and since then she has joined him/us on our investigative adventures into paleontology and geology. Another interview with Paleontologist Babie is forthcoming on bike ichnology at Jekyll Island, Georgia. 

PALEONTOLOGIST ON SAN SALVADOR, BAHAMAS

Paleontologist Barbie Willingly Sacrifices Her Winter Holiday to Deepen Emory Students Understanding of the Concepts of Uniformitarianism on San Salvador, Bahamas at Gerace Field Station. 

Chiboogamoo and I bring Paleontologist Barbie with us out in the field to lead the students into challenging situations so they could learn about modern and ancient environments.

CHIBOOGAMOO (aka Anthony Martin) San Salvador, Bahamas, December  2011 (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

Paleontologist Barbie Pursues Professional Development at 2011 Society of Vertebrate Paleontologist (SVP) Meeting in Las Vegas, Utah, USA. 

Paleontologist Barbie sees exciting tracks and a really cool dinosaur sitting trace in addition to exchanging knowledge with fellow colleague paleontologists. "Professional development is more important than Halloween parties," Paleontologist Barbie was heard saying out in the Utah desert.

PALEONTOLOGIST BARBIE DANCES WITH A DINOSAUR. After three days on the field trip Paleontologist Barbie finally meets one of the trackmakers, Dilophosaurus. “How cool – you’re one of my favorite dinosaurs! Would you like to dance?” she asks cordially. Of course, when Paleontologist Barbie dances, she always leads. And that’s because she’s a natural-born leader.(photo and caption by Anthony Martin)

Paleontologist Barbie's Passion for Modern and Ancient Traces

Paleontologist Barbie goes to St. Catherines Island to examine reptile burrows.

INVESTIGATING ALLIGATOR DENS. Paleontologist Barbie, in a quest to better understand the fossil record of reptiles, decides to investigate some of the traces made modern alligators and sea turtles on St. Catherines Island, Georgia. “Why not take on the biggest and most dangerous reptiles first?” she asks, while checking out an alligator-den entrance.(photo and caption by Anthony Martin)

Paleontologist Barbie's Gleeful Discussion of Evolution, Darwin, and Science-Related Art

Paleontologist Barbie explains her understanding of evolution by looking at the "Selections" art exhibit at Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta, Georgia. Specifically, she provides her interpretation of the importance of art done by Chiboogamoo and Hallelujah Truth.

DARWIN, PALEONTOLOGIST BARBIE, HALLELUJAH TRUTH.(photo and caption by Anthony Martin)  

Paleontologist Barbie's Raison D'etre: Scientific Investigation and a Passion for Art!

This is the first interview with Paleontologist Barbie! It is a must read!

SERVING AS A ROLE MODEL: While in Melbourne, Victoria, it was time for Paleontologist Barbie to examine some fossils and fossil replicas in Museum Victoria. “Looks like a skull cast of Dorudon, an early whale from the Eocene Epoch!” Here she looks at the spacing between the teeth toward the front of the skull. “This is the sort of functional morphology that can provide more than a few insights on its diet,” she assures us. Who could dispute her? Paleontologist Barbie, while investigating bite forces in Dorudon, demonstrates yet again why she is the honey badger of paleontologists, totally fearless and unstoppable in her pursuit of scientific knowledge. (Photo and Caption by Chiboogamoo)

WE ARE PASSING ON MEMES, NOT GENES!

Entires for Science Online 2012 Art Show

Abstractions of a Rising Sea (2011). Watercolor and acrylic on paper; collaborative work by Ruth Schowalter and Anthony Martin. Description: An artwork that is also a hypothesis, predicting traces that will form in sediments on the Georgia coast with sea-level rise, with onshore traces at bottom and offshore traces toward top, and sedimentary layers cross-cut by the animal activity.

The Holy Trinity of Ichnology (2011). Acrylic paint on wooden box and tin; collaborative work by Ruth Schowalter and Anthony Martin. Description: A triptych done in a folk-art style celebrating the "Holy Trinity" of ichnology and trace fossils - substrate, anatomy, and behavior - with a trilobite embodying these principles, as the sun, moon, and theropod-dinosaur tracks watch from above. Side panels (not shown) also bear the statements, "No trace fossil can exist without invoking The Trinity" and "Guiding principles for intuiting the unknown."

Mother Earth, Mother Dinosaur (2007). Acrylic paint on wooden board; by Ruth Schowalter. Description: A visionary imagining based on body and trace fossil evidence for the only known burrowing dinosaur - Oryctodromeus cubicularis - from the Late Cretaceous (95 million years ago), consisting of an adult dinosaur, two juveniles, a burrow (den), and two commensal burrows (mammal and insect) diverging from the main tunnel. Also meant to evoke a "womb as tomb" and maternal loss.

Descent with Modification (2011). Pencils and pen on paper; by Anthony Martin. Description: Schematic of a typical crustacean burrow system, with a pelleted burrow mound above and branching burrow system below, but branching also reflects evolutionary relationships of the burrowing crustaceans depicted, which are (left to right) ghost shrimp, mud shrimp, ghost crab, lobster, and crayfish.

On the Formation of Refuge from Drought (2011). Pencils and pen on paper; by Anthony Martin. Description: Stylized depiction of an earthworm aestivation chamber lined by pellets and with burrow connecting to chamber, meant to keep an earthworm moist during a drought; overall form and architecture based on fossil and modern examples of earthworm chambers.

 

Parasitoid: In Rocks, No One Can Hear You Scream (2011). Crayons on paper; by Anthony Martin. Description: Based on fossil cocoons from the Late Cretaceous (75 million years ago) of Montana, and trace fossils in those cocoons (smaller cocoons, exit holes, and burrows) indicating parasitoid insects preyed on the hosts, but also is meant as a nod to the Alien movie series. 

(All images copyright Ruth Schowalter and Anthony Martin, cannot be used without permission.)

Beginning the Process of Collaborating with One Husband (not two)

Two heads are better than one? Together we stand, separated we fall? Well, to combine information, to create something new, there must be a meeting of minds, a honest to good co-mingling of intelligences. If you are fortunate, good-will, celebration, and joy will be present also.We, the Paleo-Poet and RuthTruth, are at the beginning of our “shared” creative journey. We are co-creating MEMEs in the form of art and science. Yes! There is a lot of uncertainty. How to merge? We are separate beings, with entirely separate ideas. We had the good fortune of meeting each other late in life—we were both 40-something, so we were well-defined individuals!

(The above photo shows RuthTruth with her beloved PaleoPoet, who read his deep and meaningful humorous paleopoetry at the 2009 Valentine Follies hosted by Theatre on the Prowl at Sycamore Place Gallery in Decatur. Notice that RuthTruth is wearing an ammonite around her neck. Life couldn't be better when one is celebrating the Paleo Past!)

Our roughing out the PLAN began on Valentine’s Day 2010. It was the PalePoet’s sweetheart’s gift to me. We would brainstorm our ideas for the 2011 Darwin exhibit at Fernbank Museum. At this time, I was counting on him to be the SCIENTIST, and I would be the INTUITIVE VISIONARY—“seeing” the way our collaboration might go. But the PaleoPoet is more than a scientist—my husband is also a skilled artist who can draw anything he wants, and everyone will stand back viewing his creation with stunned appreciation! Whew!

Earnest in mapping out a creative plan, we succeeded in outlining 7 engaging ideas. Yet there was an underlying dis-EASE. Who would do what, what media would we use, how could we present this creative collaboration to the public without spending our small academic salaries on expensive framing?

That was cold February 14. Fast forward 6 months and we found ourselves in the heart of hot July. In addition to his academic responsibilities at Emory, the PaleoPoet had completed writing his book, “Life Traces of the Georgia Coast,” written and filmed “Major Transitions in Evolution,” a DVD course with The Teaching Company, and done his Great Cretaceous Walk in southeastern Australia along the Victoria coast for a month. He was well engaged in illustrating the figures for his book. During the same time, RuthTruth had blogged weekly on “Coffee with Hallelujah” exploring the creative process by making art daily—no matter what! Guided and celebrated teenage refugee artists from the Global Village School at Mingei for Decatur’s annual Art Walk. Joyfully assisted the PaleoPoet in his Australian fieldwork for a week, viewed contemporary art at the 17th Art Biennale in Sydney, and artistically studied dinosaurs and mega fauna in the outback of Queensland. Along with her art hurrahs, by mid-July, RuthTruth was teaching Korean executives in a month long intensive English program in Georgia Tech’s College of Management. 

(The two photos below show the PaleoPoet studying the fossil fish traces in a garage facility where the fossils are stored at Fossil Butte National Monument in Wyoming. Notice on the table is the acetate with the fossil fish traces. We are using these markings to make our collaborative art! You also see RuthTruth, who is taking a break from documenting the PaleoPoet and her own work on a story about a Bahamian Hutia!)

In the midst of ALL the above, PaleoPoet and RuthTruth delved into deciding which collaborative piece to begin with—a fossil fish trace. We decided to use the “footprint” of the original trace that Tony had sketched on acetate in July 2008. Graphically, it is visually interesting and lends itself to a beautiful painting—one that will draw viewers in and then knock their socks off when they learn of the origin of the graphic! Two four-foot long boards are purchased at Lowes. We sanded, primed, and gessoed these boards. This preliminary work devoured my art making space at our dining room table. Rolls of photographs and plastic, boards, paintbrushes, cans of paint and newspapers were everywhere. Chaos?

I could not proceed with Hallelujah Truth’s daily art making practice (no matter what); we were without a place to eat our meals. The collaboration of RuthTruth and PaleoPoet required a workspace expansion. At the beginning of September, we signed a lease for studio space at Sycamore Place Gallery in Decatur—delightfully located a 10-minute bike ride from where we live and next to Fellini’s, a place that sells 7 dollar pitchers of good beer along with tasty pizza slices. Collaboration couldn’t look better for MEME GENERATION!

(Behold our studio space at Sycamore Place Gallery in Decatur! We love the quality of light and the possibilities this space offers our meme making future. The PaleoPoet poses above with Sylvia Cross, artist extraordinaire and gallery owner and operator. Please note that the PaleoPoet is wearing a Ray Troll shirt, "The Data is in the Strata." We are intense fans of Ray Troll's scientific artwork made easily available to all of us on  too-cool t-shirts.)

Creative Update (by the PaleoPoet)

The PaleoPoet, partner and co-instigator of creative crimes against normality with Hallelujah Truth, is happy to report that The Meme Studio is making progress on sketching (literally) a plan to laud evolutionary theory through visual art and words. Our working together will result in artworks displayed with those of other artists at Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta, Georgia in September 2011. This art show will coincide with the arrival at Fernbank of a traveling exhibit by the American Museum of Natural History - simply titled Darwin - based on the life and discoveries of Charles Darwin. The concept (whether overarching or undermining) for the art show at Fernbank is to combine the natural sciences and visual art to reflect how Darwin's ideas have changed how we look at and imagine life changing through time. A number of other artists, related to Emory University, will be involved in the show as well.

What will Hallelujah and The PaleoPoet do for their collaborative artworks? Let's just say it will involve iconic animals associated with evolution - trilobites, insects, earthworms, dinosaurs, and fish - and will peer into their lives through the multiple perspectives of artists and scientists, including the evidence these animals left behind in rocks as vestiges of their ancient behaviors. For now, we are planning to use combinations of wood, paper, or canvas to hold the drawings and paintings that come out of us, our own traces of personal expression that we expect will merge into a coherent whole once all is said, done, and passed on to future generations. Hallelujah Truth will provide more insights on the process of this collaboration.

An artistic reconstruction of the Eocene bottom-dwelling fish Notogoneus osculus, placed above its trace fossil, which was made on a lake bottom 50 million years ago in a place we now call Wyoming. Photography by Arvid Aase, and display at Fossil Butte National Monument.