Artist C. K. Wilde creates intricate collage compositions using pieces of paper currency from all over the world. His collages have referenced subjects ranging from space exploration, to mythology, religion, slavery, ecology, the history of warfare, the history of money, and art history. Photo: “Great Crash”. (Photo by C. K. Wilde)

"I am completely inspired by the natural world. Beauty is everywhere. It is the growth of the forest, the depth of the sea, and the curve of the bone. It is skin, scales, bark, and tide pool ripples. It is texture, and it is raw. I am a translator of life, and I am compelled to narrate it."

Jacek Yerka is an amazing painter from Poland. His subject matter ranges from odd beasts to whimsical landscapes incorporating extraordinary architecture, and includes imagery gleaned from his childhood. I handpicked a few of his pieces so we can take a close look at his world of painting.

There is an endless bounty of eye-catching gemstones throughout the world and this spectacular boulder opal is one unique beauty that looks like a shimmering crystal encased in a tree fossil. Its opalescent sheen seeps through the cracks of the seemingly wooden rings in lustrous hues of emerald green and aqua blue. Like something out of a fairy tale, the triangular piece radiates through an organic pattern mimicking the growth rings of tree.

From towering elephants to tiny insects, photographers will be offering a rare insight into the natural world at this year’s Wildscreen Photography Festival 2014. The festival, formerly known as WildPhotos, is the UK’s largest wildlife photography show. The Wildscreen Photography Festival 2014 will be taking place between 24-26 October at London’s Royal Geographical Society. (Photo by Sam Hobson/Wildscreen Photography Festival 2014)

A general view showing the shipwrecked cruise ship Costa Concordia in an upright position after the salvage operations in Giglio island, Italy, 17 September 2013. Salvage crews pulled off a major engineering feat when they straightened the listed Costa Concordia cruise ship from the rocks it had been wedged against for the past 20 months. The delicate operation took 19 hours and was completed at 4 am (0200 GMT). The vessel ran aground near the island of Giglio, in Tuscany, in an accident that made world-wide news. (Photo by Angelo Carconi/EPA)

A man takes a photo of a radio antenna that's part of the Atacama Large Milimeter Array Observatory on March 12, 2013 at Llano de Chajnantor, about 43 miles (70 kilometers) from San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. The $1.5 billion ALMA facility, which had its official inauguration on March 13, is considered the world's most expensive ground-based observatory. (Photo by Felipe Trueba/EPA)

Revellers celebrate the death of Britain's former prime minister Margaret Thatcher in Brixton, south London April 8, 2013. Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” who transformed Britain and inspired conservatives around the world by radically rolling back the state during her 11 years in power, died on Monday following a stroke. She was 87. (Photo by Olivia Harris/Reuters)