QuillnAros~I Have a Swan Story!

Last Spring a friend of my husband's, who knows that I hand marble parrot feathers, gave me a dozen swan feathers (of course naturally molted). OMG, a treasure for sure. I marbled six of my twelve, and they were absolutely gorgeous. I sold all, but I kept one to experiment with, mainly I wanted to see if I could arc it with a low heat curling iron. Success! and the marbling paint was not affected nor was the feather damaged. The same thing for the African Grey and Cockatoo feathers. I could manipulate them as long as I used low heat.


12" swan feather, gently curved with low heat curling iron

 Anyway, back to my swan story. I always wondered how swans picked out their own ponds and stayed there the entire summer, had a partner swan and then disappeared in the fall. I always wondered how they got there and where they went. Well this morning I learned the answer!

Wayne's friend called me this morning and said, "I have a feather connection for you!" He told me that a friend of his has a big number of swans, a swan farm so to speak, and he has a ton of naturally molted feathers~In the spring, he puts one swan on the bus, and then that swan calls to the other swans and he drives around the farm and they all get on the bus! (actually the bus is something like a horse trailor with plenty of room for comfort, and every spring the swans know the ropes and every fall they get picked up and go back to the farm. I would imagine that they are frequently checked upon and taken care of during the season. I have seen these beautiful animals at ponds, peacefully swimming around looking swan-like. I have never even seen a swan fly. But I didn't realize that these swans are domesticated.

Wayne's friend says that it looks like people conversing on a bus when all the swans are being delivered to their summer homes. I never realized that this is where domesticated swans came from.
Anyway, it would be very exciting to have access to a large number of swan feathers. Not just the fact that there is something spiritual about swans, but I believe there is spirituality in all creatures that fly, and that almost anyone who works with feathers respect and feel that spirituality.

each swan feather 12",  colorfast, large and gorgeous