A team from Woody's Ice Cream shop wrangle a large inflatable dinosaur down the street during the Independence Day Parade in Fairfax, Virginia July 4, 2015. Americans marched in star-spangled parades, ran relay races, gathered for fireworks shows and crowned a new world hot dog eating champion as they celebrated Independence Day in traditional style on Saturday. (Photo by Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Many people have seen feathers as decorative items before. Today, ostrich, peacock and bird of paradise feathers can be seen in haute couture and in the costumes of indigenous peoples. They can be colorful and spectacular in their own right, but how much more stunning might they be when used as canvases for artists, eager to demonstrate their talent for the unusual? Alaskan-born and -bred artist Julie Thompson is an astounding exponent of this incredible art form.

Frances Fowler leads the Bowie VFD Marching Thoroughbreds in the Bowie 4th of July Parade in Bowie, Md., on July 4, 1976. (Photo by James M. Thresher/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Henna Katarina Johansson (R) of Sweden competes with Marwa Amri of Turkey during the Wrestling Women's Freestyle 62kg 1/8 final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Chiba, Japan, Aug. 3, 2021. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Secondary school graduates play in a fountain as they celebrate the last day of school, traditionally called the “last bell” in central Kiev, Ukraine on May 31, 2019. (Photo by Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

This handout photograph released by Taipei City Zoo on July 11, 2013 shows a newly-born panda cub of giant panda Yuan Yuan in an incubator at Taipei Zoo in Taipei. The public will have to wait three months to catch a glimpse of the first panda born in Taiwan, officials said after she was successfully delivered by parents who were gifted from China. (Photo by AFP Photo/Taipei City Zoo)

Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is seen on the concourse at Waterloo Station, July 11, 2016, in London. Ghostbusters take over Waterloo Station as Stay Puft Marshmallow Man smashes through the concourse during the morning rush-hour. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

A man lies in the sea grass at a beach on July 18, 2016 in Qingdao, Shandong Province of China. The enteromorpha prolifera spread on the beaches in Qingdao and were under clearing. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)