Nov 15

Sir Rano Ham(ster), Daniel D. Brown PhD, 2022

This is “Sir Rano Ham,” the beloved fuzzy little hamster-son of our friends Hailey and Mitch (@haileyherdlinger@roguetripusa). @tam_a_ryn and I recently pet-sat him while they went on vacation for 2 weeks. They had told us that he was slowing down, having some troubles, and might not have long on this earth. He was ~4 years old and they typically live 2-3 years. Wouldn’t you know it, he decided to shuffle off this mortal wheel in his sleep at our house, literally as they were hours away coming home to retrieve him. Needless to say, we were all pretty devastated. So obviously I had to immortalize him in wood.

Handcut with a scrollsaw and built from mahogany, honey locust heartwood (pinkish) and sapwood (whitish), holly (regular and blue-spalted), walnut, apple, and wenge.

Please note: I do not take commissions.

Dec 29

Mom & Jack, Daniel D. Brown, 2018

Some of you may have seen in my series on the octopus intarsia, that my step-dad Jack died rather unexpectedly in November. For Christmas, I decided to make a wooden artwork for my mom based on her favorite photo of them together in Mexico. This was a hard one for me to make, and equally hard to give. But I’m really glad I made it, as it represents a very meaningful memory. I love you mom! @pjwages.
Built from walnut, mulberry (from our back yard), cedar (reclaimed from our own roof), yellowheart (the sun) bloodwood, maple, and a cherry frame with walnut splines.