Featherwork

A couple of weeks ago, I took a break from my gallery-sitting duties at the

Potomac Craftsmen Gallery in the Torpedo Factory Art Center and shopped in the bookstore for something to read during the opera I was to play that night (pit orchestra). I found a fascinating book about "featherwork" which is the use of feathers as a fiber element by native cultures. The book is called "The Gift of Feathers" and was published by the University of Pennsylvania in the early '90's. Any title with the word "feathers" in it catches my interest because I have parrots and they shed beautiful feathers. One day, I hope to try some of the knotting techniques pictured in the book. In the meantime, I need to get over to the Textile Museum in Washington, DC and check out the Peruvian feather cape in their collection.