Chris Maynard’s feather designs capture essences of birds in Featherfolio’s new, creative feather art form.
Artist Chris Maynard is definitely very passionate about feathers. He says, “my work with feathers gives me a satisfying perch from which to view the world.” And, indeed, he has worked with feathers since he was 12 years old, but only began showing his work in 2010. Since then, his unique feather shadowboxes have been quickly recognized by art collectors, the press, and a wide and interesting variety of people from around the world.
Feathers mark nature’s pinnacle of achievement: the intersection of function and beauty. They make flight possible, insulate against water, sun and wind; and their colors and patterns help them hide and attract mates. To Chris Maynard, each feather is a small bit of perfection. When birds shed or discard their feathers every year, he recycles them in his art.
Each feather design is placed in a shadowbox and uses feathers naturally shed from birds. Each feather shadowbox is a handcrafted, unique piece of art. Find your favorite birds like turkeys, crows, ducks, hummingbirds, songbirds, and peacocks in a variety of sophisticated and inspiring designs.
Feathers provided by zoos and aviaries are carefully cut, positioned, and preserved in each piece. Most are collected after natural molting, with no harm to the bird. In fact, many of the owners of the feathers in art are still alive and well. Chris Maynard designs, cuts, and arranges the feathers which retain their original feather colors and shapes. He creates tiny flocks of graceful swans using swan feathers; displaying peacocks with peacock feathers, turkeys with turkey feathers, and more. You will see others such as parrot feathers, macaw feathers, and pheasant feathers. Many bird feathers like songbird feathers are too small so these are represented by larger birds’ feathers.
And please do note this, Chris Maynard encourages and supports conservation and laws that protect birds which also limits the kinds of feathers that are legal to sell.
