White Stag Leather Mask

Here's a mask that seems almost seasonal (but it's not. It just worked out that way)...a white stag.

I haven't made a deer mask in a long time, at least ten years I think. I have to say, I'm much better at this now than I was back then. Part of it is being brave enough to go big and bold. Deer have huge ears...that's just the way they are. I never did that correctly before. The design is based on a whitetail buck. We have lots of them around here and I love them...they have such sweet faces and long eyelashes. They look like dainty forest cows to me.

As ever, this is made from one piece of 8oz tooling leather. Hand shaped and hand carved without any molds, stamps or forms. I painted it with Liquitex acrylics in white and silver, with some shell-pink for the ears.

This mask was a custom order from my Etsy shop.  www.merimask.etsy.com