Inspired by the natural curves and crevices of each pebble she finds, Japanese artist Akie Nakata draws out their character further with her paintbrush. Stones are transformed into adorable critters that can be held in the palm of a hand. A self-taught artist and rock collector since childhood, Akie has been turning stones into palm-sized…

A sculptor with a bent for optical illusion has devised an incredible way to soften rock—or so it would seem to those who behold his work. Appearing to defy the laws of physics, Spanish artist José Manuel Castro López carves hunks of quartz and granite—some small, some massive—into fluid, undulating forms: folded like fabric; squeezed…

Imagine finding out that an ordinary-looking rock you’ve been using as a stepping stone is actually an ancient relic worth more than $20,000. A southern-English woman discovered a marble slab in her garden years ago. At the time, she thought it was just an ordinary garden rock. So, for more than 10 years, she used…