Andreyka, a 10-month-old female bear cub, plays with Rommi, an Alaskan malamute, at the Siberian Zoo in the settlement of Listvyanka, Irkutsk Region, Russia on December 9, 2020. The bear cub, which was found in a weak condition earlier this year, now play-fights with the Alaskan malamute, who adopted her and has seen three generations of bear cubs brought up in the Siberian zoo and released back into the wild. (Photo by Yuri Novikov/Reuters)

Sunrise over Haleakala Crater, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii on April 26th, 2011. (Photo by Robert Bush/Alamy Stock 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.

A baby bush-baby in a set of scales at London Zoo shortly after birth. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). 10th August 1938

Elephant Maja of Circus Bush on his daily walk with Circus ringmaster Hardy Scholl (R) on Berlin streets in Berlin, Germany June 30, 2016. (Photo by Stefanie Loos/Reuters)

Melissa Stewart's team competes in the official restart of the Iditarod, a nearly 1,000 mile (1,610 km) sled dog race across the Alaskan wilderness, in Fairbanks, Alaska, U.S. March 6, 2017. (Photo by Nathaniel Wilder/Reuters)

Air Force One casts its shadow over homes as it comes in to land in Allentown, Pennsylania with U.S. President George W. Bush aboard in this October 1, 2004 file photo. (Photo by Jason Reed/Reuters)

Galagos, more commonly known as bush babies, are tiny African primates with remarkable jumping abilities. Thanks to the elastic energy stored in the tendons of their lower legs, small-eared galagos can jump 6 feet straight up in the air. (Photo by Traer Scott/Chronicle Books)