Monday, June 01, 2015

Arrowheads & Fossils

I've mentioned before my love of rocks. I have collected rocks over the years for their beauty, for their interest, and for their sentimental value.  I have tiny rocks from Mt. Etna when we travelled to Italy (sentimental value there). The rocks I find are usually beside water ... lakes or rivers or the Mediterranean Ocean ;) (I have a few from Croatia) ... so I'll dip them in the water to check their interest value and colours when the water brings them to life.

Occasionally, I find fossils in those rocks. Along the shores of Lake Ontario where I live, there are pieces of black shale that hold the fossils. We sometimes crack open these black rocks by tapping them on the edge and inside you can often find very delicate looking fossils. 


I've collected a few of these tiny treasures. 
The shale is very fragile, so once you crack the rock open, it sometimes crumbles into tiny pieces.


These are all fairly common fossils.


Still, they're kind of cool, don't you think?


My daughter bought me a couple of shadow box frames for Christmas. I didn't want these little rocks to crumble any further, so I decided to frame my fossils in one of the shadow boxes. Using Velcro dots, I stuck the fossils onto the backing board. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.


Another set of rocks I wanted to frame are arrowheads!


 My mother's grandfather and father worked their small market farm in West Hamilton with horse and plow. Often they unearthed arrowheads made by the aboriginal people of that area. 


Apparently, one of my uncles had a shoebox full of these little pieces of history. My mother gave me a couple, and then I found a couple more when I cleaned out her house. 


I didn't want to keep them hidden away any longer, so I've placed these arrowheads in the other shadow box frame.


The arrowheads show up really well with the black backing board.


The fossils are a bit dark, but I still think these both make an interesting display.


I saw a heart-stopping display of arrowheads at the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto) in the wintertime. I don't know if it was a permanent exhibit or not, but hundreds of these types of arrowheads were all set up and labelled as to their age. Next time I'm there, I'll have to check it out again (and get a photo if possible).

Thanks for stopping by today!

Wendy

22 comments:

  1. Hi Wendy, Those are lovely fossils, and very cool Indian artifacts! I really enjoyed seeing them.

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  2. So cool Wendy! I would really like for my little people to find such treasures as that is what they are! Your displays are perfectly fantastic! What a great idea to put them in shadowboxes like that! And what an amazing collection you have! Wishing you all good things as you journey into your week! Nicole xoxo

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  3. Hello Wendy, you a wonderful collection of fossils and the arrowheads are cool too. I like displaying them in the shadow boxes, a pretty display! Happy June! Have a happy day and week ahead!

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  4. Such a great collection, I love items like this. Anything with a bit of history really x

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  5. WOW! What a collection. My 6 year old son looked with me and he is duly impressed. I love how you have chosen to display them. This way everyone who visits you can enjoy them!

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  6. Fantastic to see your fossils Wendy! They look so good displayed in those frames and they will be really safe there. I hope that you will be able to do some comparisons between yours and the ones in the museum so that you can find out more about what you have. xx

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  7. What a great way to display the rocks.

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  8. Great collection of artifacts Wendy and I think a shadow box is the perfect place to store and show them off.

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  9. These shadowboxes make beautiful displays. I love fossils and other artifacts too. I'm the kind of person who is just about always scouring the ground everywhere she goes; there might be something cool down there!

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  10. I love it that you're displaying the fossils and arrowheads. What treasures! I love stuff like that too.

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  11. I love your collections, Wendy! The fossils are wonderful! How fun to find the arrowheads, too! My Dad used to have a collection of arrowheads from his Grandfather's farm in New England. They plowed with horses and found many of them in the dirt. I wish I had them....he gave them to his brother when he went into the service. I love how you have displayed them - the black background really makes them stand out! xo Karen

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  12. What amazing treasures, Wendy. I was so interested to see them.
    Amalia
    xo

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  13. These are fascinating Wendy and you have displayed them beautifully. Great to be able to see them rather than have them hidden away.

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  14. What nice fossils & arrow heads! My dad and uncle used to collect them too!

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  15. Those are great shadow boxes, Wendy. It was a great idea to use them as a way to display the fossils and arrowheads. :-)

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  16. There's a lot of history in those "rocks"..

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  17. I just love this and find things like fossils and arrowheads so fascinating. Oh the stories they could tell! I love how you set up the shadow boxes - such a beautiful display!! Thanks for sharing. xoxo

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  18. You've found some amazing fossils! They are so much fun to hunt for. When I was growing up, we would walk down the newly plowed fields along the river, in Arkansas to hunt for arrowheads. My Daddy was so good at finding them and collected quite a few. They are wonderful to have framed and on display. (I think my niece has the ones we found) Hugs, Diane

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  19. I love fossils ... you're lucky to find such treasures at your place !!! I'm almost jealous ... !!! :-))))

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  20. Very cool and framed nicely. I used to collect rocks for the same reason and had a whole box of them I gave away to my ex-brother-in-law when he was about 12 or 13. Darn it! :) Now I collect rocks for crochet purposes. Ha! Best wishes, Tammy

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  21. Wendy,
    So, so cool and nifty! These are beautiful finds and I just love imagining how those arrowheads were shaped and the stories that those individuals shared with one another. Beautiful collections indeed!
    Warm Hugs,
    Jemma

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Thanks so much for leaving a comment, it's nice to know when you've stopped by! :)

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