A worker stands next to a Southern Two-toed Sloth at the Sloth and Friends Studio inside Hong Kong Ocean Park on August 3, 2023 in Hong Kong, China. (Photo by Vernon Yuen/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

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 girl carries bottles of water filled from a charity tank at a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) near Sanaa, Yemen on March 25, 2022. (Photo by Khaled Abdullah/Reuters)

An activist of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) stands along a road wearing a coat with baby dolls to raise awareness about the leather industry, in Hyderabad, India on May 6, 2022. (Photo by Noah Seelam/AFP Photo)

People holding umbrellas under strong wind walk pass a crosswalk as tropical storm Ma-on passes Hong Kong, Thursday, August 25, 2022. (Photo by Anthony Kwan/AP Photo)