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Laughing Mantis Studio

Art inspired by biology, created by a biologist

  • The Art of Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D.
    • Woodworking
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“Old Man Carving,” Daniel D. Brown, 2006

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  • “Old Man Carving,” Daniel D. Brown, 2006

I found this little chip of wood and decided it needed a face. It’s only about 3-4 inches tall.

"Old Man Carving"
“Old Man Carving”
"Old Man Carving"
“Old Man Carving”
"Old Man Carving"
“Old Man Carving”

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May 14, 2006 LaughingMantisSculptureart, carving, face, old man, pocket knife, sculpture, wood

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You can see my frequently-updated works-in-progress by following @laughingmantisstudio

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Zebra swallowtail! Long story, short: a butterfly Zebra swallowtail! Long story, short: a butterfly showed up in our backyard, I learned from @gobbism that it hadn’t been documented in Pittsburgh since 1937, we raised and released its babies, and the whole story took a life of its own and inspired me to build this wooden “intarsia” artwork, which now adorns our shed next to the butterfly enclosures I built. See my previous reel for the full story OR wait for the two articles that will be published simultaneously about it on September 12! Summary: plant natives plants and native wildlife will find you! Special thanks to @bmccracken922 for his integral part in the story assembling a bunch of naturalist nerds. As for this piece, the black is wenge wood, the white is American holly, and the red and light blue are dyed/watercolored holly. The antennae are mahogany and black walnut, and the eyes are walnut. This was a fairly complex work with 310 individual pieces hand cut on a scrollsaw, glued, carved/shaped, and sanded. All told, it took ~6 weeks to build in my spare time. … #woodworking #scrollsaw #scrollsawart #butterfly #lepidoptera #butterflyart #zebraswallowtail #homegrownnationalpark
Hopefully it’s okay I post this excerpt @copper_ Hopefully it’s okay I post this excerpt @copper_pig_fine_woodworking and @_callmemabie_ (no worries if not. I can remove). But this was such a heartwarming surprise for me today to see the family portrait I made for the Jaspers a few years ago make it into the excellent documentary by Justin Mabie: “Copper Pig Woodworking: Secrets of Fine Woodworking and Design”. Seriously this is a great documentary containing much learned wisdom - really even more on making meaning and purpose in life than on woodworking itself. This is is probably the most professionally captured photography AND description of anything I’ve made, so I thought it should be on my page! You can find this on YouTube, their pages, or my current stories.
It’s been slow going on this new project, as I’ve been spending a lot more time planting natives, cataloguing every single species of plant and animal I can find on our property - because a) nerd and b) Homegrown National Park @homegrownnationalpark, and of course doing the day job. If you don’t instantly know the inspiration for this piece, I highly recommend you watch my previous story, which I think has been viewed and shared more than anything else I’ve ever posted. Which is awesome, because making our own tiny property a haven for whatever native wildlife I can, and hopefully inspiring others to do the same, is far more important than any little wooden thing I make. … #zebraswallowtail #conservation #homegrownnationalpark #pittsburghwildlife #woodworking #scrollsawart #woodintarsia
The Zebra Swallowtail! This story serves as a posi The Zebra Swallowtail! This story serves as a positive example of the idea that “small efforts by many people” can help save our native ecosystems. In 2020 I upped my efforts to turn our yard into a wildlife-friendly habitat. This included planting pawpaw trees, which produce the largest native fruit in N.America and serve as the larval host for the Zebra Swallowtail butterfly. Last month @tam_a_ryn and I saw a flash of white and black in the backyard between us. I shouted, “That’s a zebra swallowtail! A woman in my chat group just posted about them!” In April, Brandon McCracken (IG: @bmccracken922), manager of ecological restoration for @pittsburghparks put together a chat group of local naturalists. In it, butterfly ambassador & field tech Gabrielle Marsden (IG: @gobbism) posted her efforts to increase pawpaw/swallowtail populations in Pittsburgh. But I missed the part about how the zebra swallowtail had disappeared here almost a CENTURY ago! With the rise of steel mills came the loss of pawpaw stands/zebra swallowtail hosts. I sent photos to the group & within minutes Gabrielle replied, “WHERE ARE YOU?!” The significance quickly became clear. Dr. Kevin Keegan, Manager of Collections in Invert. Zoology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History (@carnegiemnh), photographed and posted the last known collection from Pittsburgh in 1937 – 87 years ago! I spent the next morning building an enclosure & ended up with 30+ eggs & caterpillars. I fed & watched them develop from black wriggling things, molt through 5 instars, form into chrysalises, and fly off as gorgeous butterflies. I’m ecstatic to have brought so many people on the journey! It’s clear that many yearn for positive stories about our world. Is the beginning of their return to PGH? Unlikely. But our tiny plot of Pittsburgh serves as an example that if you create native habitat, life will find it. Importantly, many of the dwindling species on which we depend and the vast interconnected webs in which they exist will likely ONLY survive if we as individuals take steps to recreate and reconnect those habitats. My hope is that this story will inspire others to join the effort. #conservation #butterflies
I designed and built a couple outdoor side tables I designed and built a couple outdoor side tables from punky 4x4 cedar fence posts. They’re intended to sit on either side of our backyard patio swing. They came out to ~$30 each. Simple and functional! … #outdoorfurniture #woodworking #furnituredesign #gardendecor
Back in like 2008 (I think) I was an adjunct biolo Back in like 2008 (I think) I was an adjunct biology professor at @elonuniversity in North Carolina. In my welcome packet was a small pouch of Indian Blanket seeds (aka Firewheel; Gaillardia pulchella). I forgot about it until I found it in an old box 13 years later. I planted them in 2021 and lo and behold, some were still viable! They’ve been growing and reseeding ever since! I have a ton growing this year and they’ve had me considering delving back into stained glass for at least 1 piece. Then I saw @twolittlebirdsglass’s allium piece and knew I wanted something similar. After contacting her, she graciously gave me permission to blatantly rip off her design since it’s a one-off personal project 😂. I made the design myself and tried to make it a bit more my own. But it’s still more or less the same. And I love it! I used the old glass I still had lying around. I also used lead-free solder for the first time since it’ll be around our gardens. And wow the message boards weren’t lying when they said it’s a pain to work with (at least for a novice like me). It also didn’t hold the patina very well. All that being said, I’m super stoked with how it turned out and happy to have it in our yard. … #stainedglass #blanketflower #firewheel #gardendecor
You’ve already seen all these guys. I just wante You’ve already seen all these guys. I just wanted a photo with them all together on my feed since I had them out for a refinish. I recently made Hestu (the big guy) and I made the little guys last year. These are Koroks (tree fairies) from The “Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” and “Tears of the Kingdom”. They hang out in my garden. The little ones are a bit weathered, but still whimsical. Carved from black locust and a bit of curly maple. … #scrollsaw #powercarving #woodcarving #legendofzelda #breathofthewild #tearsofthekingdom #korok #woodworking
I carved Hestu the Korok (tree fairy) from the Leg I carved Hestu the Korok (tree fairy) from the Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom because I’m apparently really into garden decor. He will now look over the three smaller Koroks I made last year for me and my neighbor friend. Made from black locust and curly maple. … #scrollsaw #powercarving #woodsculpture #woodcarving #legendofzelda #breathofthewild #tearsofthekingdom #korok
Congratulations to my friend and colleague Dr. Nei Congratulations to my friend and colleague Dr. Neil Carleton, who successfully defended his PhD today in the @leeoesterreichlab! He’s one of those super overachieving insane MD/PhD students in the “MSTP” (medical science training program). But he hasn’t finished the MD part, so I stuck some red tape over the MD until he earns it 😂😂 Dude literally ran a half marathon last weekend, and we’re running an experiment together next week. He’s a powerhouse! I scrollsawed and threw this sign together for him over the weekend from curly maple, walnut, yellowheart, and cherry. … #woodworking #scrollsaw #phd #gradschool #graduationgift #doctordoctor
The Clan of Two! Din Djarin and Din Grogu. Believe The Clan of Two! Din Djarin and Din Grogu. Believe it or not, it’s been over year since I made an actual Star Wars piece. I always knew I’d eventually make a Mando/Grogu. But I didn’t feel like doing it when everyone and their porg were making baby yoda things. So i figured I’d try to knock one out by May 4th. After 5 weeks working on it, I finished in the nick of time last night! This piece is based on the cover photo of “The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Season 2).” Built from 15 species: cedar, chakte viga, honey locust, lignum vitae (Argentine), limba, mahogany, maple (some on helmet ebonized to gray with homemade iron acetate, and one piece dyed blue), mulberry, rosewood, rubberwood, sapele, wenge, yellowheart, and 2 unknown scavenged species. … #woodworking #woodsculpture #starwars #themandalorian #grogu #babyyoda #scrollsaw #handmade #geekart #maythe4thbewithyou #maytheforcebewithyou #pedropascal #maythefourthbewithyou
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