The line between art and craft is blurred, beautifully blurred, by Chris Maynard's feather designs, a dozen of which can now be seen at Childhood's End Gallery. To my way of thinking, they are craft - beautiful, sensitive, delicate and exquisitely crafted. 

Maynard collects bird feathers from aviaries, cuts them into the shape of birds and decorative elements, and mounts them in shadow-box frames that are approximately one-and-a-half inches deep. The cut images are sometimes negative shapes cut out of the feathers and sometimes positive shapes left when surrounding feathers have been cut away, and sometimes they change from positive to negative in an Escher-like manner. For added interest, they are mounted above a solid white background and cast shadows that become an integral part of the image.

A typical example is one called "Rain Ducks." There are two versions of this one. There are two large feathers suspended at the top and bottom. In one version, many little circles are cut out of the top feather, and the cut-out circles are pasted to pin heads that line the area between the top and bottom feathers like falling raindrops. The lower feather has a duck cut out that appears to be swimming with its reflection in the "water" below. The top duck is a positive shape and the reflection is a negative shape. There is also a version of "Rain Ducks" that is a reproduction printed on metal.

It is almost impossible to describe these feather designs. They have to be seen - not in reproduction but in person - where the delicacy and subtlety can be fully appreciated. The technical skill displayed in these images is astounding, and the nuanced use of color and aesthetic placement of objects within the frame is outstanding.

Also showing at Childhood's End are pastels by Barbara Noonan, marquetry mirrors by J. Nelson, and linoleum block prints by Yoshika Yamamoto.

Noonan's pastels are mostly landscapes and seascapes abstracted to the extent (which seems to be extremely popular these days) that you can't quite tell if it's water, land or sky, but there is something of a horizon and semi-flat areas of color and texture modulation.

Yamamoto's landscape prints and Nelson's mirrors are decorative and nicely crafted.

Chris Maynard's Feather Designs, Monday-Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., through Sept. 25, Childhood's End Gallery, 222 Fourth Ave. W., Olympia, 360.943.3724