A mahout splashes water on his elephant in the river Sabarmati on a hot summer day in Ahmedabad, India, May 20, 2015. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

A cycle-rickshaw puller takes a nap during a hot afternoon along a street in Amritsar on April 19, 2022. (Photo by Narinder Nanu/AFP Photo)

American actress Kiernan Shipka stretches her hot-pink look across a boat in the second half of April 2022. (Photo by Instagram/kiernanshipka)

A mahout splashes water on his elephant on a hot summer day in Ahmedabad, India on April 8, 2019. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

In this November 3, 2019, photograph a child with Down syndrome jokingly gestures to the audience while presenting ponchos displaying drawings inspired by children, during a fashion show dubbed “heART Couture” in Bucharest, Romania.Children with Down syndrome staged a fashion show and performed along a ballet ensemble, two milestone events for the inclusion of people with disabilities in Romania's social life, 30 years after the fall of communism following a violent uprising at the end of 1989. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)

Local residents crowd a swimming pool during a hot weather in Suining, Sichuan province, 27 July 2008. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

A man dives into a canal during a hot day in Larkana district of Sind province on July 20, 2023. (Photo by Ahmed Raza Soomro/AFP Photo)

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.