A large variety of weapons were for sale at the Washington County Fairgrounds Gun Show that drew thousands of people over the weekend, on March 22, 2013. (Photo by Gary Porter)

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.

People watch as an acrobat rides his motorcycle around a circular track at an entertainment park set up outside a shrine in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on June 19, 2013. (Photo by Muhammed Muheisen/Associated Press)

1st prize in the People Observed Portraits Stories category. Carla Kogelman, the Netherlands. The photo shows Hannah and Alena, two sisters living in the rural village of Merkenbrechts, Austria. (Photo by Carla Kogelman/World Press Photo)

A woman hands flowers to a member of the Wisconsin National Guard standing by as people gather for a vigil, following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, U.S., August 28, 2020. (Photo by Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

People pose for photos among a field of cosmos flowers in a car park before high-rise apartment buildings in Goyang, west of Seoul on September 22, 2020. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)

People play with toy guns outside a bar at night, almost a year after the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Wuhan, Hubei province, China on December 11, 2020. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)

People enjoy spring break festivities ahead of an 8pm curfew imposed by local authorities, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Miami Beach, Florida, U.S., March 27, 2021. (Photo by Marco Bello/Reuters)