Chris Maynard shared many facets of his feather mania with the group on February 26, 2015, at a well-attended meeting. He is an internationally known artist with feathers, and as we learned also an expert on the biology of feathers. His family background enabled him early on to pursue both birds and art. What he does is precise cutting of feathers with surgical scalpels, etc., to form bird images from actual bird feathers, but no description could match seeing it. This is his own invention, and no one else does anything like it. His larger-than-life slides were informative and entertaining. It was interesting that he found that complex patterns in feathers are found in neutral colored feathers, but rarely in brightly colored feathers. He passed around a crowned crane feather asking us to test its strength, and we were amazed.
Some Great Bustard feathers from Britain that the Pullens had brought to the last meeting for their presentation were passed around again, which added to the feathery delights of the evening.
Chris brought his new book, “Feathers – Form and Function,” and many copies were sold and autographed. A stunning volume, already in its second printing!
For more information about Chris and to order more copies of his book, see his website: http://www.featherfolio.com/
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