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)

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.

A fan runs on the field during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LV between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs at Raymond James Stadium on February 07, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Relatives of inmates of the «Santiago 1» jail react outside the prison after a large number of prisoners attempted to escape amid panic over the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Santiago, Chile, on March 19, 2020. (Photo by Javier Torres/AFP Photo)

Switzerland's Belinda Bencic celebrates after defeating Czech Republic's Marketa Vondrousova during their Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games women's singles tennis final match at the Ariake Tennis Park in Tokyo on July 31, 2021. (Photo by Yara Nardi/Reuters)

Lopez Cardona of Cuba and Oleksandr Khyzhniak of Ukraine appear inseparable in the 80kg semi-final on August 4, 2024, but it was Khyzhniak who progressed to the final. (Photo by Peter Cziborra/Reuters)

A cosplayer uses moving stairs during the first public day of the world's largest computer games fair Gamescom in Cologne, Germany August 23, 2017. (Photo by Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters)