Feathers

Once you have noticed the feather, you start seeing it everywhere. A single line lays down the centre quill, the soft barbs lift off either side in a row of crescents, and there it is again, on a shirt, on a card, woven into a blanket. It is one of the quietest shapes in the art, and one of the most common.

What makes the feather such a steady motif is how well it fits the form. The clean ovals and crescents and U-shapes of this style are already the shape of a feather. The shaft becomes a long curving line, the vane breaks into pieces that fan out and taper to a tip. It reads as a feather from across the room and as pure design up close.

The feather carries weight past decoration, too. The eagle feather in particular is treated as one of the most respected gifts a person can be given, kept for ceremony and worn with care. So even drawn simply, a feather arrives with that behind it.

One shape, drawn a hundred different ways, and somehow you always know it the moment you see it.