Blacksmith Johann Schmidberger works on a suit of armour for the Vatican's Swiss Guards at his workshop in Molln, Austria, March 29, 2017. Austrian blacksmiths who produce ceremonial suits of armour for the Vatican's Swiss Guards are close to the end of their current deal to do so, and say supplying the suits will not now be an issue for many years to come. One of the drawbacks of the Swiss Guards' medieval uniforms is that the craftsmanship needed to make them is disappearing. (Photo by Leonhard Foeger/Reuters)

An injured woman is helped by emergency workers as she lies on the sidewalk in Times Square after a speeding vehicle struck pedestrians on the sidewalk in New York City, U.S., May 18, 2017. A car plowed into a crowd of pedestrians in New York' s bustling Times Square, leaving one person dead and at least 12 other injured in what officials said was an accident. (Photo by Mike Segar/Reuters)

A member of the 324 Squadron during the Anzac Day dawn service at Coogee Beach in Sydney, Australia on 23 April 2019. Anzac Day, held annually on 25 April, is a national day of remembrance across Australia and New Zealand, which commemorates the people who lost their lives or served in wars and conflicts. The day coincides with the first landing of the Anzacs at Gallipoli, Turkey, in World War One. (Photo by Steven Saphore/Australian Associated Press)

The combination of two different drawing styles in one picture never ceases to amaze us. The works of Allison Kunath are a vivid example of this technique. The background of her pictures is drawn using watercolors, while the actual image is broken down into rough geometrical shapes. This creates a very striking contrast, thanks to black, bold lines of the image on the forefront drawn over soft, cloudy shades of color. The skill of Allison is clearly seen in the way she manages to draw something as amorphous as a squid without making any curved lines. (Photo by Allison Kunath)

We are all drawn to fire, entranced by its beauty and ferociousness. Its brilliance draws us in like moths to a candle flame. Thus, many of the celebrations that humans have involve lighting fires. They can be big or small; there could be many little lights or one giant inferno; they may float on water, burn on land, or rise high into the skies. Loi Krathong is a festival that is held each year in Thailand and a number of other places. During this festival thousands of little fires are lighted, presenting a marvelous sight for all the onlookers. It is believed that this tradition is an adaptation of Brahmanical festival, which was adopted by Thai Buddhists to honor Buddha.

Do you ever get the irresistible urge to light matches on fire, especially if there are many of them in one place? If you do, you shouldn’t come near the giant globe made by an American artist Andy Yoder. The thing is, this 42” globe is made entirely out of matches on the outside, while the center was made using plywood, foam, and cardboard. It took Andy two years to complete his work, finally finishing in 2014. Each of the matches used was hand-painted and then glued in place. Also, in order to prevent his masterpiece from catching fire, Andy Yoder has doused his work with a flame repellant.

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.

A customer shops at an Alibaba rural service centre in Jinjia Village, Tonglu, Zhejiang province, China, July 20, 2015. E-commerce growth in the countryside now outpaces that in major cities, though fewer than one tenth of online purchases made on Alibaba platforms were shipped to rural areas in the first quarter of this year. Alibaba estimates the potential market at 460 billion yuan ($74 billion) by next year. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)