Jul 03

Blue Jay, Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. 2020

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.

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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

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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

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May 02

Hummer, Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D., 2020

“Hummer”, 2020, wood intarsia.
I made this little hummingbird piece as a “quick and easy” palette cleanser after my previous incredibly tedious bee project. The main reason I designed this specific piece (besides being a mental health exercise) was to compare it to a similar work I made 3 years ago when I first learned intarsia (swipe to the final pic). It’s funny because I thought my original hummingbird was pretty cool back when I designed it. Looking at it now, it seems just ridiculously amateurish. I call that progress! Hopefully in a few years, this will look equally stupid (though I’m sure I’ve reached diminishing returns).
The new piece was intentionally made of a more chaotic mix of grains and colors. I just wanted to have fun with it and make it kinda weird. It’s constructed from 16 species: canarywood, bocote, walnut, black palm, chakta viga, leopardwood, katalox, holly, cherry, redheart, yellowheart, olive, honey locust, maple, crab apple, and elm.

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“Hummer”, 2020, wood intarsia. I made this little hummingbird piece as a “quick and easy” palette cleanser after my previous incredibly tedious bee project. The main reason I designed this specific piece (besides being a mental health exercise) was to compare it to a similar work I made 3 years ago when I first learned intarsia (swipe to the final pic). It’s funny because I thought my original hummingbird was pretty cool back when I designed it. Looking at it now, it seems just ridiculously amateurish. I call that progress! Hopefully in a few years, this will look equally stupid (though I’m sure I’ve reached diminishing returns). The new piece was intentionally made of a more chaotic mix of grains and colors. I just wanted to have fun with it and make it kinda weird. It’s constructed from 16 species: canarywood, bocote, walnut, black palm, chakta viga, leopardwood, katalox, holly, cherry, redheart, yellowheart, olive, honey locust, maple, crab apple, and elm. … #pittsburghwoodworking #madeinpittsburgh #woodworking #handmade #scrollsaw #scrollsawart #intarsia #woodintarsia #woodworker #handmade #woodporn #garageworkshop #hummingbird #birdart #homedecor #custommade #maker #DoItYourself #imadethis #makersmovement #covid19

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