I have always felt that the Praying Mantis is one of natures coolest creatures. As a sculptor, this insect proved to be the perfect inspiration for my latest project. I hope the community here will forgive me if this project is not necessarily the sort that is easy to duplicate. I have posted it here as a way to share the steps that go into my sculptures and to promote discussions about building things, creative reuse and fine art in general. As I will demonstrate in the following steps, this sculpture was made out of 99.9% found and salvaged materials. Even in instances where you see machined aluminum, know that it was scrap yard salvaged or pulled from the carcass of a larger machine somewhere else. This is also true of all wire, bearings, switches etc.
If you like what you see, please consider visiting my website to see my portfolio of other similar work.
Thanks!

I usually begin each of my pieces by arranging various found parts on the floor like a jigsaw puzzle until I start to see a shape that I like. In this case I had already collected a number of objects that I hoped would add up to a Praying Mantis. The main basic elements were: a pair of gas pumps to be made into pinchers, a set of four curtain rod brackets to be used as leg elements, a propane tank for the body, a hanging lamp for the abdomen, and the arm from a scroll saw to form the upper body.