A feather painting made by Xu. [Photo by Tan Yingzi/China Daily]

The main themes of her feather art are common subjects in traditional Chinese paintings, such as flowers, trees, birds, fish and mountains.

"The color and texture of feathers are most suitable for such subjects," Xu said. "You cannot use them to create portraits."

Xu only uses the feathers from domestic birds, such as chickens, ducks and pigeons.

"They are easy to find and it is a way of making use of something that would otherwise be considered useless," she said.

Finding the right feathers is the key to success, so Xu visits a local market regularly to collect feathers from poultry sellers.

"I only collect chicken feathers from free-range chickens," she said. "The ones from chicken farms don't have good texture or color."

The season is also important. "Birds have thick feathers in winter and thinner ones in summer," she said.

The feathers are sorted and stored in a dry place after being cleaned, degreased and deodorized, and are usually used about a year later.

In her studio, there are hundreds of boxes of various feathers divided into color, shape and texture.

"Every feather is different, so you can never make the same artwork twice," Xu said.

She recalled that a few years ago, she got hold of some exquisite pigeon feathers and made them into a beautiful peony flower.

"The colors were so rare and beautiful," she said. "I don't think I will find such feathers again."

In 2008, Xu's daughter decided to learn feather art after graduating from university.

Now the mother-and-daughter studio has been turned into a small art company, with their works having been sold at home and abroad.

Gu said they have no plans to expand the business or recruit more people.

"We like the way we work, just the two of us and feathers," she said. "I feel so humble in front of nature and I treat every feather like a human. My mission is to find them a suitable place in my artwork."

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