At the end of rice harvesting season, the folks of the Kagawa and Niigata Prefectures in Japan hold a straw festival to celebrate the abundance of the harvest. Dried straws cover wooden frames to form larger-than-life sculptures from animals like sharks and gorillas to vessels such as ships and tanks. The family-friendly event invites visitors of all ages to engage, interact, and play on the enormous structures.

A partial solar eclipse is seen in a break in the clouds during rush hour in downtown Wichita Kan., Thursday, October 23, 2014. A partial eclipse occurs when the moon covers a portion of the sun as seen from the Earth. (AP Photo/The Wichita Eagle, Travis Heying)

A man carries a block of ice left behind by a hailstorm in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on May 19, 2014. After the severe overnight hailstorm a layer of hailstones as deep as 20 centimeters covered streets and parks, drawing people to make snowmen and play in the ice, an unusual scene to the city. (Photo by Nelson Antoine/AP Photo)

An exterior view of Rauceby, an abandoned mental asylum in Lincolnshire, UK. These haunting photos show the collapsing remains of a derelict mental asylum. The pictures show the ruined former hospital building and chapel, now covered in dust and graffiti. Few signs remain that reveal the site as a former home of mentally ill adults and children. (Photo by Simon Robson/Caters News)

I’m an illustrator based in South Wales, UK. I work in pen and ink, creating original illustrations for record cover artwork, shirt design and poster art.

A man inspects a plastic cover placed over an artwork attributed to Banksy on May 17, 2012 in London, England. The stencilled image depicts a poor child making Union Jack flags on a sewing machine and is located on the wall of a Poundland discount shop in the Wood Green area of north London. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid)

Karl Templer styles Katy Perry as icon of Hollywood glamour Elizabeth Taylor for the March cover editorial of Interview Magazine. Mikael Jansson captures the newly-divorced, almost unrecognizable pop star in a visually stunning set of marvelous images. (Photo by Mikael Jansson)

“The UMO 24 Karat Gold Facial uses 24-karat gold and Gamma PGA, a potent hydrating compound, to lighten, brighten, hydrate and tone aging skin”. – Medica.bz.

Photo: A woman receives UMO Inc.'s “Gold Facial Treatment” as she is covered with sheets of 24-carat gold, said to be effective for anti-aging care, during the Beautyworld Japan Exhibition on May 8, 2007 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Junko Kimura/Getty Images)