Feathertastic!

November 17, 2009

I have a friend who you could say is completely obsessed with feathers. It doesn’t help that her name is Heather and she really loves that they rhyme. It’s like it’s meant to be. She is a Heather feather. Anyway, her obsession with feathers has really opened my eyes to how neat-o they are. I had actually ever thought about how cool they are. Feathers have become a huge inspiration for me as art material, jewelry, accessories and anything in between. It also helps that feathers happen to have quite a few cool facts that I had never realized before researching a bit about them. It all makes so much sense now.

Generally when someone becomes interested in something there is a defining moment with a specific thing in the category of interest. There is a gateway to full-blown interest or obsession. This is why marijuana is a gateway drug. This is also true with feathers and me. My gateway feather was the peacock feather. It is just so beautiful. I would imagine many people’s gateway feather is the peacock. My first pair of feather earings were peacock feathers. You could say they hooked me.

Another thing that I love about feathers is they are unique and interesting in addition to their beauty. To use the peacock feather for an example again, peacock feathers are used as a means of attraction between male and female birds. They are also used to scare off predators, hence it looks like an eye. Many feathers are used as a means of attraction between male and female birds. They are pertinent to their survival. There are many different categories of feathers and no two feathers are exactly the same. They are like a fingerprint or someone’s hair. Birds are also the only animal that has feathers. As I was researching I came across a quote that I love. “Every bird has feathers and everything that has feathers is a bird.” That quote came from a site with a lot of good feather info: http://www.earthlife.net/birds/feathers.html

People have always worn feathers as accessories because of their unique and natural beauty. They can be found in anything from earings to headbands to bracelets to actual art. I love to make collages with feathers and fabric etc. to create a rich and luxurious feel. Feathers have such a rich authenticity to them. It is a refreshing breath to see such natural beauty. Here is how I used a peacock feather in a collage. It is simple but elegant.There are also ways to use feathers in art without actually using the feathers. I saw these pencil drawings of real feathers in coffee shop the other day and felt compelled to take their pictures for my blog. Here they are. I love this technique because it exemplifies the uniqueness and imperfections that make feathers so beautiful to me.

Although I like feathers in almost every form I have to say that my favorite is when they are used in jewelry and other things that you can decorate yourself with. I took a picture of my friend Heather’s jewelry rack that is mostly filled with feather earings and hair accessories. It is pretty impressive and every piece is absolutely beautiful!