A devotee of the Jor Soo Gong Naka shrine with skewers pierced through her cheeks takes part in a procession during the annual Vegetarian Festival in Phuket on September 27, 2022. The festival, back after two years of hiatus because of the Covid-19 pandemic, features religious devotees who slash themselves with swords, pierce their cheeks with sharp objects and commit other painful acts to purify themselves, taking on the sins of the community. (Photo by Manan Vatsyayana/AFP Photo)

Barcelona's Fridolina Rolfo celebrates after scoring her side's second goal during the Women's Champions League, semi final second leg, soccer match between FC Chelsea and FC Barcelona in London, England, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Photo by Zac Goodwin/PA Wire via AP Photo)

Dancers in mirrorball costumes dance with festival-goers during day two of Glastonbury Festival 2024 at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 27, 2024 in Glastonbury, England. Founded by Michael Eavis in 1970, Glastonbury Festival features around 3,000 performances across over 80 stages. Renowned for its vibrant atmosphere and iconic Pyramid Stage, the festival offers a diverse lineup of music and arts, embodying a spirit of community, creativity, and environmental consciousness. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

I would like to tell you why many artists, who like me, have painted portraits and landscapes in oils on canvas, worked with acrylics, watercolors, and pen and ink drawings, have turned to the art of gourd carving.

Photographer Howard Schatz had an idea: place actors in a series of roles and dramatic situations to reveal the essence of their characters. Such was the premise behind his book, In Character: Actors Acting, which captures some of Hollywood’s most emotive stars in the act of, well, making faces. Luckily for us, he continued the tradition for Vanity Fair. Here are some of the best.

The finishing touches are made to a giant sculpture on the Hayward Gallery entitled “Urban Fox” and made from straw bales on April 18, 2011 in London, England. The sculpture features in the Southbank Centre's 60th anniversary celebration of the 1951 Festival of Britain. The celebration will feature various cultural and creative events and runs from April 22 until September 4, 2011 at London's Southbank Centre. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

A fighting bull loses its balance during the third day of the San Fermin running-of-the-bulls on July 8, 2011 in Pamplona, Spain. Pamplona's famous Fiesta de San Fermin, which involves the running of the bulls through the historic heart of Pamplona for eight days starting July 7th, was made famous by the 1926 novel of U.S. writer Ernest Hemmingway called “The Sun Also Rises”. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

Druids, pagans and revellers cheer as the sun rises at Stonehenge on December 22, 2011 in Wiltshire, England. The unseasonable warm weather encouraged a larger than normal crowd to gather at the famous historic stone circle to celebrate the sunrise closest to the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)