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.

The English artist Richard Stainthorp creates life-size sculptures with metal wire. Its special feature is to capture, accurately, all the energy and fluidity of the human body. A selection of his works is available in the article.

A woman stands next to a giant jandal on Tamarama Beach as giant sculptures are installed ahead of the “Sculpture by the Sea” exhibition in Sydney on October 19, 2016. Celebrating it's 20th anniversary, Sculpture by the Sea is the world's largest annual, free-to-the-public, outdoor sculpture exhibition. (Photo by William West/AFP Photo)

Slovenian artist Franc Grom, aged 72, makes unbelievably intricate egg sculptures using just a tiny electric drill and enormous patience. According to National Geographic, when finished, each egg contains approximately 2,500 to 3,500 holes. While Slovene artisans usually paint their eggs using a technique called drsanka by lightly scratching intricate patterns into the surfaces of colored eggs, carving them was solely Grom’s idea.

A bogieboarder rides a wave at the wedge in Newport Beach, Calif., Wednesday, August 27, 2014. Southern California beachgoers experienced much higher than normal surf, brought on by Hurricane Marie spinning off the coast of Mexico. (Photo by Chris Carlson/AP Photo)

Tourists watch illuminated snow sculptures during the 31st Harbin Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Exposition on January 4, 2019 in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province of China. The 31st Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Exposition officially opened to public on December 29. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

A giant chrome brushed aluminium skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus (T-Rex) dinosaur , made by French sculptor and painter Philippe Pasqua, stands at the pier of riverboat company Bateaux-Mouches in Paris, with the Eiffel tower in the background.

See also: Karma by Do Ho Suh