How to Make a Feather

Since most birds shed and regrow feathers year to year, it is helpful to know how to make them.

Both feathers and hair are made with the same thing: a protein called keratin.

To make a hair, you more or less start by just stacking one protein on top of another.

It all happens in a follicle embedded in the skin.

To make a feather, the process is more complex.

Follow the process Thor Hanson describes in his recent book, Feathers:

“Imagine people in a crowded sports arena doing “the wave.” As it passes, each individual stands up and raises his or her hands at precisely the right moment to keep the wave moving fluidly around the stadium.

Cells at the follicle collar behave the same way, but instead of standing and waving, they add keratin to the growing feather barb.

It’s called helicle growth because it progresses like a spiral (or half spiral) around the rim of the follicle.”

Route a small blood vessel to each follicle to supply the nourishment to each feather as it grows.

Make sure you cut off the supply when the feather achieves full growth or else the bird could bleed to death if a large feather is pulled out.

Once the feather is grown and blood supply is cut off, the feather is fully functional.

If it should get pulled out, just start the process of making a new feather all over again, immediately.

If the feather merely breaks but the shaft remains in the skin, you will have to wait until the year’s next feather pushes the shaft out.

When you get really good at making feathers, please tell me how you get the same pattern and color in each feather every time they shed.

And how do you get the same matching feathers on each side of the bird?

No matter how much I read about feather growth, it still seems like a wonderful mystery.

Animation of Feather Growth, by Matthew Harris, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Lorra Lee, Sculpture in Feathers

Lorra Lee Rose creates life-size human forms clad in feathers.  She has been at this for a long time and has a devoted following of collectors throughout the USA.  Each large piece incorporates many many feathers.  Since the feathers she uses are often hard to come by, collecting enough for one piece can take years.  And since the feathers have to meet high quality standards, sorting through them to pick out the right ones and the best, is a hugely time-consuming phase.  But she loves it.  Like me, she prefers molted plumes and pays close attention to using only what is legal in the U.S.A.

Here is a quote from her home page, “Inspired by tribal art, old movies, belle epoque costumes—and especially by her deep experience of the materials themselves—Lorra Lee develops complex patterns that feature vivid color, contrast, movement and symmetry. The resulting works are exquisite creations that will delight anyone fortunate enough to witness them in person."  It is true, the photographs of her work on her website are stunning, but in seeing them person is better, an entirely different and enhanced experience.

Also I have a new Facebook page where you can see my latest work. Be sure and click the 'like' button so you can stay updated.

The Meaning of Feathers

What do see see in the image of this sharp-tail grouse feather? 

The mystery of meaning is in part what keeps me going.  Some of my favorite feather patterns remind me of the human form.  And strangely, they tend toward either paleolithic, like images of people in cave paintings, or some alien humanoid race.The way patterns in a feather mean something to me doesn't have much to do with  what the feather does for the bird.  Example: the feathers on the back of a ruffed grouse show delicate heart shapes that remind me of valentines.  I might go on to think that these birds must be more devoted, affectionate, and tender creatures than if they didn’t have heart shapes on their backs. This is mistaken pattern identification—thinking that how I perceive the world uses the same reality as the one an animal experiences.

So I am wary of thinking that my perceptions of  an animal based on its visual qualities is really what that animal is like.  Think of grinding up rhinoceros horns to enhance male potency. Killing the animal and sawing off the long, upright, slightly bent Rhino horns for my own procreation-related ends because the parts look slightly the same is bad for the rhino. But probably giving meaning to a molted feather is a harmless pursuit.

Repeating Patterns in Feathers

Lewis Pheasant Body Feathers

Feathers are at their most beautiful on the bird.  This is how it should be and how the birds mean to show off their feathers.   On the body, each feather overlaps and shows only the tip in a repeating pattern—usually a variation of a diamond pattern.  The color and pattern and sometimes structure in each individual feather is geared toward the part that is exposed, what you see on the bird.  

This close-fitting, repeating pattern with no spaces in between is part of what keeps the penguin and duck dry.  It’s what makes the snipe and the grouse blend with its surroundings and hard to see.  The tight repeating feather patterns keep birds smooth and aerodynamic.  Some male’s brightly colored repetitions of feathers in certain places attract the females—like a peacock tail.

My feather-art uses single feathers, divorced from the birds but I still like to bring out the theme of repeating patterns that is so important in feathers.

The best known bird in the world

What’s the most familiar wild bird in the world? The pigeon. Its native home is Europe but has spread to cities all over the world. Since most people live in cities they see pigeons on the sidewalks, wires, and parks. They might pick up a feather and wonder about its qualities. For many urbanites, this might be their sole connection with feathers.

This is one reason why I like to work with pigeon feathers. They aren’t very colorful and don’t have a lot in the way of patterns but they are great in black and white. Especially their tails, each with the band of grey in the middle.

Want a small something to search for on your travels? I am planning a piece of feather art using pigeon tail feathers from every large city in the world. So pick up a dropped pigeon tail feather you find from Moscow to Buenos Aires, stick it between pages of a book and when you get home or during your travels send it to me: 8211 Ayer St. Olympia, WA 98501 USA 

Welcome to my Feather blog

This blog is an exciting new venture for me because I love feathers, know a lot about them, and like to write about them and show my and other's art. 

The image above is part of a Rupells Vulture wing feather from Africa—naturally molted. The silhouettes are cut from the feather in the shape of the vulture, raised above the background, and lit with directional lighting which gives a shadow effect. This feather would get messy from the rotting meat that the bird eats. But the bird only puts its head in the gory parts and its head is almost bare of feathers. Some vultures are entirely bare of feathers on their heads but the Rupells has a few downy ones, I don't know why.