Panther Mask

Designed by Michael G. LaFosse

I designed a similar mask during my artist-in-residence experience at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, where an actual mountain lion was their early mascot in the 1950's. Another art-residency at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Florida, reunited me with his cousin, the Florida Panther. These cats are unfortunately gaining increased newspaper publicity because of conflicts with humans, as our suburbs encroach on the wild cats' natural habitat. This subject reminds us that we share the planet with other creatures, which deserve our protection and respect. This model also allows us to explore the paper mask, a time-honored and versatile use of paper art. Some say that masks often resemble their folders, since we are most familiar with the proportions of the features on our own face.