A Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG) fires his rifle at Islamic State militants as he runs across a street in Raqqa, Syria, July 2017. (Photo by Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

US actress Zendaya arrives for the 45th annual E! People's Choice Awards at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, on November 10, 2019. (Photo by Jean-Baptiste Lacroix/AFP Photo)

People walk on the Patriarch's bridge decorated for Christmas and New Year celebrations with the Christ the Savior Cathedral in the background in Moscow, Russia, Monday, December 16, 2019. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

People watch plumes of smoke and ash rise from as Taal Volcano erupts Sunday January 12, 2020, in Tagaytay, Cavite province, outside Manila, Philippines. (Photo by Aaron Favila/AP Photo)

People participate in the Cordao do Boitata carnival celebration in the Centro City neighborhood on February 16, 2020 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Bruna Prado/Getty Images)

People take pictures of the sun rising next to the buildings of the banking district in Frankfurt, Germany, Saturday, December 28, 2019. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)

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.