Coelophysis bauri, a carnivorous theropod dinosaur, is the state fossil of New Mexico due primarily to discovery of a large number of skeletons near Ghost Ranch, NM. Coelophysis had long been the poster child for dinosaur cannibalism until work published by Nesbitt et al. in Biology Letters (2006) demonstrated clearly that stomach contents from mature Coelophysis were not juveniles of the same species or even dinosaurs at all, but rather were unrelated early crocodylomorph archosaurs. In honor of Coelophysis’ “cleared name” I created this original art quilt depicting him in his modern-day home (in front of Chimney Rock) on one side and in a more Triassic setting on the other side. The quilt is made of commercially available fabrics of all types and embellished with twine, trim, wool roving, beads, polymer clay, dryer sheets, and paint sticks.
2012, 70 x 70, $3,000
For more info on this piece, check out my blog posts on it. And just in case you were wondering, the dinosaur's name is Seymour.