Valentine

Hmmm... could it be Hematite? Very majestic. Jo

How interesting:). First, that's a human eye you have in there, not a bird eye ... reminds me a bit of an 'eye of Anubis' or 'eye of Ra' symbol or even 'eye of Horus' (can google all 3 terms to get the symbol). Quick Wiki of Eye of Horus: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_of_Horus
Horus has a falcon head btw:).

An eagle eye is exactly as your original drawing is... a round eyeball with no white area at all, JUST the iris showing. Also, eagle eyes are flat across the top, there's no epicanthic fold... or indented area under a brow. Right above the eagle eyeball is a flat bone ridge, which the eye sets directly under, no eyebrows or lines above. That's going to be true of every bird eye.

Maybe you should consider turning that into the whole 'Horus' head, all you'd have to do is add that curlique at the left end (see wiki), and flatten the top of the head (falcons don't have such pointy heads) for a more symbolic symbol head. Horus eye is the Egyptian symbol of protection, royal power, and good health. Not so bad a symbol, and certainly a conversation starter:P.

I am sure it will come out great after you worry about it for a while. lol. I am thinking just add the feathers and round down the top of the head a little. I like your subject. Heads are difficult for me so I try to stay away from them but you have a great start.
Jim

It's what Helen said. The eye is a human eye. Therefore I would not do any more with this piece to make it an Eagle. I would finish it as a metaphysical piece. There may be a deep reason you were guided to carve it in this way.

For a better look at the natural Eagle eye, here is a Martial Eagle close-up that I photographed in January:



The photo is too close to show the "eagleness" of the bird but it provides a close-up of the eyes. Martials are larger and stronger than our Bald Eagles, if you do not know what they are, maybe here is a better picture of a young one a few months out of the nest that I photographed in the Kalahari.

Peachfront, that's a GREAT pix of a predator stare... years ago, I lived in a rural area where I raised a few auracana chickens so I could have 'easter eggs' (auracana eggshells are naturally different pastel colors - much like willow creek and owyhee jasper colors ... all of Martha Stewart's color palettes come from her auracana flock's eggshell colors).

One day, I heard a huge ruckus near the chicken pen, and when I rounded the corner to look, I saw a HUGE HUGE HUGE Golden Eagle, clutching one of my auracana babies in a single claw (not a chick, but molting for its final feather set, 2 handfuls to hold). I RAN back to the house to get a shotgun, came running back outside, and the eagle was still there. I pointed the gun at the eagle, when it looked up and STARED at me. In almost slow motion, while it stared, it slowly brought my chicken up to its beak, and pulled its head off.... I could not move. All I had to do was pull the trigger, and I just could not do it. Almost lazily, the eagle spread it's wings, still staring at me, and lifted off, still holding my headless chicken. Based on where the wings covered, I estimate (VERY accurately because the chicken pen was only 14' across), that the spread was about 9'... that's NINE FEET in diameter. I was floored, stunned, shocked, and even a bit furious, as I watched it soar away.

On hindsight, to be priviledged to see the bird at all, to be within 10' of probably the largest living flying creature left on earth, getting its meal, in the wild, was an experience granted to very few. I nearly killed the most majestic creature I will probably ever see in this lifetime for a $5 chicken. I raised that chicken tho from a quarter sized piece of fluff under a heatlamp ... so it was very bittersweet anyway. And that eagle would be dead if not for the stare, however many terrible terrible regrets I may have had afterwards. Needless to say, I'm so glad I did not. It would have been worth my entire pen of chickens to see that eagle even once again, but I never did.

The point of this was the power of that stare. It's something to see in person, and you can fully understand why it paralyzes prey after seeing it, and why bird eyes can be so obsessive. Your photo captures it beautifully. Who didn't stare back at that photo for longer than they look at most photos? Birds are such fascinating creatures.