It can be quite difficult to glue down the tiny pieces of down, and of course they do lose their fluffiness in the process, and even the whitest pieces look surprisingly dark, but they do have great charm and I always try to find them in the particular place that I have been drawing or working in, so that they are part of that sense of place.
When I was creating the collage below, based on drawing and spending time round our pond, watching the butterflies and listening to the birdsong, I was determined to incorporate some small feathers as I often see some there. On this occasion I seemed to be unlucky. I walked around the pond five times with no success, and was on the point of giving up when there they were: five little brown feathers perfect for my needs! Sadly the photo below is rather out of focus and they are hard to spot, but they are there, nestling where they belong at the bottom of the picture, giving me a lot of pleasure. Much of the rest of the work is composed of dyed papers and drawings on tracing paper.
Occasionally I also incorporate dried plant material, well encased in acrylic gel to protect it.
Sometimes I use pressed leaves and I have even been known to use tea leaves!
As with all the natural materials I use, there is a connection with the subject matter of the work. This detail is from a collage celebrating a very special tea party. You will see that there is even a rubbing of the tea spoon and I also used rubbings from the lace tablecloth. See blog on the 'Evolution of a Collage'.