Men work at a makeshift oil refinery site in Marchmarin town, southern countryside of Idlib, Syria December 16, 2015. The refinery site, owned by Yousef Ayoub, 34, has been active for 4 months. Ayoub says that he gets the crude oil from Islamic State-controlled areas in Deir al-Zor province and Iraq. The price for a barrel of crude oil varies and is controlled by the Islamic State, but it is currently at $44 dollars per barrel, he said. (Photo by Khalil Ashawi/Reuters)

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.

A British couple drink hot chocolate at Chillout cafe in Dubai May 12, 2013. Chillout, owned by UAE's Sharaf Group, is the first ice lounge in the Middle East, with temperatures set at –6 degrees Celsius (21 degrees Farenheit). The cafe, with its illuminated interiors, curtains, paintings and seating arrangements, is all made of carved ice and frozen sculptures. (Photo by Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters)

“I was born in 1977 in Warsaw, Poland. I had graduated from the High School of Art in Warsaw. My journey into the world of photography began in the early 90's, but at that time my biggest passion was painting. Painting helped me develop vision that was hard to create. Unfortunately I had to leave the paintbrush and canvas. A few years ago, I opened “the door” to my own world with help of a different key”... – Michal Karcz. Photo: “Last Outpost”. (Photo by Michal Karcz)

Passengers watch as The Waverley, the world's last remaining seagoing passenger paddle steamer arrives at Clevedon Pier on June 10, 2011 in Clevedon, England. Built in 1946, the trust which owns and operates the Waverley, is warning that this could be the last season for the vessel and is appealling for more public funding saying it is struggling to make ends meet in the current financial climate due in part to rising fuel costs. Restored in 1973 after service on Loch Long in Scotland, since 2003, Waverley has been listed in the British National Register of Historic Ships core collection as 'a vessel of pre-eminent national importance'. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Parade Marshall Captain Gary Tomlin gives a command during a Remembrance Sunday parade through Fulham in West London, Britain November 8, 2009. Every year in November, villages, towns and cities across Britain honour those who have lost their lives in war on Remembrance Sunday. While Queen Elizabeth leads tributes at a national service of remembrance at The Cenotaph war memorial in central London, various neighbourhoods also hold their own local marches and memorials. (Photo by Kevin Coombs/Reuters)

Polar bears prepare to feast on the remains of a bowhead whale, harvested legally by whalers during their annual subsistence hunt, just outside the Inupiat village of Kaktovik, Alaska, USA, 10 September 2017. As climate change shrinks their natural habitat, polar bears are turning Kaktovik into their very own sanctuary city. (Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/EFE)