Glass artist Kiva Ford draws from his vast experience in scientific glassblowing to create perfect miniatures of wine glasses, beakers, and ribbon-striped vases, some scarcely an inch tall. A member of the American Scientific Glassblowers Society, Kiva creates instruments for scientists who require one-of-a-kind designs for various experiments. The same techniques and tools used for scientific equipment also apply to his artistic practice including the miniature works you see here, as well as larger sculptures, and ornate drinkware.

California-based glass artist Loren Stump specializes in a form of glasswork called murrine, where rods of glass are melted together and then sliced to reveal elaborate patterns and forms. While the murrina process appeared in the Mideast some 4,000 years ago, Stump has perfected his own technique over the past 35 years to the point where he can now layer entire portraits and paintings in glass before slicing them to see the final results. His most complex piece to date is a detailed interpretation of Leonardo da Vinci’s Virgin of the Rocks, which involved hundreds of glass components that were melted into a final piece.

The photos, created by Tito Mouraz in Portugal, look too surreal, and it takes a while to realize that these are actually not painting but reality. The way people can completely transform the terrain is very reminiscent of the way people tend to change themselves. Chip away the granite of their soul, turning it into something that fits their idea of perfection. However, in the end, most of them end up with an obscene parody of beauty, rather than something truly marvelous. The reason for it is probably that people are actually oblivious to the true image of beauty, making them stumble around in the dark, hoping to find something that might not exist at all. (Photo by Tito Mouraz)

Will Rosner and a playful humpback whale pose for a selfie. This man is certainly knows how to enjoy life travelling the South Pacific and posing for selfies with a whale. Australian carpenter Will Rosner, 24, from Sydney, Australia, has been travelling the world for the past 18 months but nothing could have prepared him for this incredible postcard moment. Swimming in the pristine waters of the Tonga in the Pacific Ocean Will was lucky enough to have the chance to swim with an entire pod of humpback whales. (Photo by WIll Rosner/Caters News)

These unique photos capture the moment a boy has his teeth picked clean by amazing underwater shrimp. These fascinating creatures spend their lives diving inside the mouths of fish to remove the parasites that lurk there. Russell Laman imitated the behaviour of the surrounding fish swarm to entice the cleaner shrimp into his mouth whilst snorkelling with his father Tim Laman in Bali, Indonesia. The 13-year-old queued with the waiting fish and then opened his mouth when the shrimps came near. (Photo by Tim Laman/Caters News)

A tale of two foxes. Surprising behaviour, witnessed in Wapusk national park, on Hudson Bay, Canada, in early winter. Red foxes don’t actively hunt Arctic foxes, but where the ranges of two predators overlap, there can be conflict. Though the light was poor, the snow-covered tundra provided the backdrop for the moment that the red fox paused with the smaller fox in its mouth in a grim pose. (Photo by Don Gutoski/2015 Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

National Geographic invites photographers from around the world to enter the 2013 National Geographic Photography Contest. The grand-prize winner will receive $10,000 (USD) and a trip to National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C., to participate in the annual National Geographic Photography Seminar in January 2014. Photo: “We just want to move to search to the Leopard at that morning but we found a group of giraffes come toward a small lake and start drinking it was a nice moment when the Giraffe finish from drinking and leave a letters “S” with motion in the air”. (Photo and caption by Majed Ali/National Geographic Photography Contest)

A baby turtle's perilous first moments are captured as it takes to the sea for the first time on Heron Island in Queensland, Australia in July 2022. Predators such as sharks, birds, and pollution mean that approximately only one out of every 1000 turtles that hatch make it to adulthood, with some not even reaching open ocean. Amateur photographer (Photo by Hannah Mitchell/Solent News & Photo Agency)