Someone who ordered a Summer Bird mask wanted an Autumn bird to go with it, but with a hooked beak. Thus, an autumn raptor! I know I"ve made a bunch of different "versions" of raptors with autumn or fire colorations, but it"s just so fun :0

Also, a fun story behind the photos of this mask - usually I take a neutral gray or black board outside (preferably on an overcast day) and photograph the mask. Indoor lighting, even with full spectrum bulbs (which I have), never give you a photo as good as you can get with outdoor lighting. Today it"s raining, so I had to figure out a way to get a good photo of the mask without getting everything soaking wet!

I opened my door and placed the board and mask in the doorway, sheltered enough by the house so it didn"t get rained on. This meant I was only getting light from one direction...and to avoid glare I had to turn the mask so it was being lit from "underneath". The result was the bottom photo having a slightly spooky look with the board lit under the mask. I think it"s a pretty cool effect! :D

Hand-carved and shaped 7-oz. leather, painted with acrylics. The beak is also shaped leather, as are the attached leaves.