Heart, Daniel D. Brown PhD, 2023

There is a man named Parag Chowdhury. He professes about hearts and viscera and other anatomical and physiological science out in California. It’s also his birthday this weekend.

I met Parag back at the small liberal arts Hendrix College in Arkansas back in the 90s. The older brother of my good friend Pritam (now an archaeologist), I’d mostly see him at parties – first in the dorms, and later at the “log cabin.” Parag was and is – hands down – the smartest, coolest motherfucker I’ve ever met. Incidentally, his influence over the years as he forged his path through science and life had a major impact on the trajectory of my own career in the biomedical sciences. So when his wife Julia @juleschools asked if I’d consider making something for his big bday, I was immediately all in.

I designed and built this heart over the course of two months from South American bloodwood (the heart chambers), African padauk (the oxygenated vessels), and Central
American purpleheart (the deoxygenated vessels), all cut by hand on a scrollsaw. Those coronary arteries were… not easy. The background is American curly maple. Obviously some artistic liberties were taken. The padauk and purpleheart will darken dramatically with UV/oxidation over time. But the bloodwood should remain red, which is why I chose it for the heart itself.

I got my PhD studying the genetics of cardiogenesis (heart development)… holy crap like 17 years ago now 😲. So the heart has additional importance to me, especially given that my own heart has… issues. For this reason I actually made 2 of them. One for Parag and one for me.

Wooden Dropheart Earrings #2 – Padauk, Maple, & Purpleheart

These earrings are hand-made, one-of-a-kind pieces made from padauk, purpleheart, and maple woods. The colors are the natural colors of the wood (no stains or paints). These are finished with a food-safe mineral oil/beeswax mix. 

This pair of earrings is available for purchase on the Laughing Mantis online shop.

 

 

 

The wood is initially cut to size and glued in the desired pattern. I then sketch out the design and cut it out with a scrollsaw. Finally comes a LOT of sanding by hand and then finishing with mineral oil/beeswax.

 

Wooden Dropheart Earrings #1 – Padauk, Maple, & Purpleheart

These earrings are hand-made, one-of-a-kind pieces made from padauk, purpleheart, and maple woods. The colors are the natural colors of the wood (no stains or paints). These are finished with a food-safe mineral oil/beeswax mix. 

This pair of earrings is available for purchase on the Laughing Mantis online shop.

 

The wood is initially cut to size and glued in the desired pattern. I then sketch out the design and cut it out with a scrollsaw. Finally comes a LOT of sanding by hand and then finishing with mineral oil/beeswax.

 

Cardiac Development in the African Clawed Frog

Way back in 2005/2006 I was trying to finish up a Ph.D. in biology studying the genetics of heart development in the lab of Dr. Frank Conlon at UNC, using the frog as a model. My advisor at the time was also going up for tenure and wanted a decent animation of heart development for his presentation. Thus I convinced him to buy us a copy of Maya, with which I made the following video and started learning how to create 3D art and animations.