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Laughing Mantis Studio

Art inspired by biology, created by a biologist

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

laughingmantisstudio

Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. | Breast Cancer Research Scientist
Woodworker/Artist
Husband to @tamarynart.
AKA: @danieldbrownphd
Pittsburgh, PA.
All three wooden Darth Mauls in the friendly trash All three wooden Darth Mauls in the friendly trash-talking woodworking competition with Luke (@cyclocrosscutter) and Justin (@scrollsawscribbler) are now *complete! See previous posts for details, but TL;DR: Luke said “I’m gonna make Darth Maul”, I said “I’ll make one better”, and Justin said “hey, I wanna play with you guys”. You can vote for your favorite here or in their posts (Justin’s tomorrow). Or better yet, just trash whichever two you like least**. Votes are meaningless and will only be used to say “haha I got more votes than you, loser.” In all seriousness, both Justin and Luke are amazing woodworkers and artists. We all have our own styles. We just share a love for geekdom. And wood. And keeping each other’s egos in check. Seriously, our DMs are brutal. All three of us cut our pieces with scrollsaws and used only natural wood colors (no paints or stains). Luke also tried to bling his up with some aluminum. Justin put his flash in another crazy frame (you should see some of his other recent ones). I went the whole “oh yeah well my frame is hand-carved” route. cc: @switwer1 *Luke’s isn’t really done - he still has a crucial addition left for his, but he left it out for now out of “fairness”. ** Most of my followers know that I keep my feed almost exclusively positive and full of animals, rainbows, unicorns, and love. I make an exception for these two ass-hats. ... #scrollsawart #woodintarsia #woodart #geekart #starwars #starwarsfanart #clonewars #darthmaul
Shaping of “Bandit” pretty much done. Next com Shaping of “Bandit” pretty much done. Next comes lots of sanding and then my anxious attempt to capture his colors with spirit stains. All pieces cut from the same sycamore branch I scavenged from the park nearby, which also became the previous blue jay piece. ... #scrollsawart #woodintarsia #petportrait #madeinpittsburgh #pittsburghartist
I started a new project: our 14 yr old pup, Bandit I started a new project: our 14 yr old pup, Bandit! Fun fact: part of how I wooed @tamarynart was by drawing her a picture of Bandit, who she’s had since she was 19 (second pic). I immediately fell in love with him, which was a critical factor in Tamaryn even considering to date me. He’s been my fur-son for 7 yrs now! He also hasn’t been doing so hot lately. On top of chronic kidney disease, losing 1 eye to cataract and the other following, deaf in the opposite ear, and all the other ailments of old age, his time is clearly waning. But he still has quality of life and we’ve been thankful for all the covid19-induced time we’ve gotten to spend with him, even if it’s just him sleeping next to me while I do computer work from home. I’m again gonna attempt the inking method I learned from @ingrainedmoments_woodcraft. Hopefully it will turn into a good commemoration of the cutest member of our family! ... #scrollsawart #woodintarsia #petportrait
I finally finished this little blue jay intarsia p I finally finished this little blue jay intarsia piece, trying something a little different this time by experimenting with alcohol inks (there are no blue woods as there are no blue pigments in birds - look it up). I have to thank the amazing artist @ingrainedmoments_woodcraft for recommending @chestnutproducts Spirit Stains. Her work is gorgeous! This piece was inspired by our new bird friend “Hunter”, who has provided practically a David Attenborough-level of wildlife backyard drama during this pandemic. He became relatively habituated to @tamarynart and I, and would “ask” us for nuts multiple times a day. Several times he appeared to “thank” us with a post-nut squawk (clear communication of some sort), and it seems like he may have even tried to barter a few times with cherries he brought us from a nearby tree (taking the nuts, leaving the cherry). Anthropomorphizing aside, he’s an incredibly clever bird. He mated and raised at least 1 chick. Sadly, he also slaughtered and ate Freddie Chirpury the song sparrow’s chicks (hence the name Hunter). This is nature’s way. Very little in nature comes without a mix of beauty, triumph, and tragedy. *** #scrollsawart #woodintarsia #woodart #pittsburghwoodworking #madeinpittsburgh #bluejay #bluejayart
In progress base stain with @chestnutproducts spir In progress base stain with @chestnutproducts spirit stains. Definitely need some practice. #bluejay #scrollsawart
I started a new project. Inspired by the neighborh I started a new project. Inspired by the neighborhood blue jays we’ve befriended with almonds, and by the work of @ingrainedmoments_woodcraft. I’m doing something a little different this time. I’m gonna at least attempt to color the wood with alcohol inks. I have NO idea how this will look in the end and I won’t be shocked if it doesn’t turn out how I want. But that’s what experiments are for! Note: some of the pieces are so small, I actually had to cut the overall shape in luaun ply just to hold the pieces together while I shape them. They kept falling and going everywhere. So that’s not the actual background I’ll use. I’m making the bird from this sycamore branch I found and milled up last weekend. #intarsia #scrollsawart #birdart #bluejays
I finished my octopus bowl! This thing started out I finished my octopus bowl! This thing started out just as an excuse to 1) finally use my Xmas gifts from @tamarynart (an @arbortechie minicarver and bowl gouge) and 2) just carve something random outside from a chunk of cherry firewood I had lying around. I also used pretty much all of my @saburrtooth rotary burrs on this thing. It’s not the best thing I’ve carved - pretty lousy anatomical accuracy and the suckers aren’t nearly as detailed as I would have liked. But I just sort of sketched it as I went. After putting a couple weeks into it, I was ready to call it done. Overall, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out for a one-off bowl to hold the TV remotes in our “Lair”. 😂 ... #powercarving #woodsculpture #woodenbowl #octopusart #pittsburghwoodworking #madeinpittsburgh #pittsburghartist
I finished my octopus bowl! This thing started out I finished my octopus bowl! This thing started out just as an excuse to 1) finally use my Xmas gifts from @tamarynart (an @arbortechie minicarver and bowl gouge) and 2) just carve something random outside from a chunk of cherry firewood I had lying around. I also used pretty much all of my @saburrtooth rotary burrs on this thing. It’s not the best thing I’ve carved - pretty lousy anatomical accuracy and the suckers aren’t nearly as detailed as I would have liked. But I just sort of sketched it as I went. After putting a couple weeks into it, I was ready to call it done. Overall, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out for a one-off bowl to hold the TV remotes in our “Lair”. 😂 ... #powercarving #woodsculpture #woodenbowl #octopusart #pittsburghwoodworking #madeinpittsburgh #pittsburghartist
Making an octopus bowl using (for the 1st time) my Making an octopus bowl using (for the 1st time) my Xmas gifts from @tamarynart: an @arbortechie mini carver and ball gouge. Also a ton of @saburrtooth burrs. I tried to do some knife/chisel carving, but this old cherry is just too damned hard. ... #powercarving #woodcarving #octopusart #woodsculpture #pittsburghartist #pittsburghwoodworking
As a longtime researcher and student of biology an As a longtime researcher and student of biology and evolution, the entire concept of differential treatment based on such an inconsequential thing as how much melanin pigment is in one’s skin cells is beyond non-sensical. We are all family in a very real, deep, and meaningful sense. The fact that much of the world population still doesn’t seem to understand this, even after almost 2 centuries of this fact being evident, blows my freaking mind. #blackouttuesday
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