Glass "Ice" sculptures with LED lights and solar panels

I have been making variations of these chipped edge pieces with etched and carved images that I call glass "ice" sculptures for many years. Recently, I worked out the idea I have had for several years of illuminating the glass from below with a small LED light.

  

In conjunction with a small solar panel, the battery is recharged d
uring the day and a light sensor in the solar panel turns the light on at night and off in the morning. With a polished surface on the base of the glass, the LED is able to project light well up into the 19mm (3/4") thick glass, highlighting the texture of the relief carved images.

Experimenting with various tools and techniques over the years, I can create very fine detail with mostly industrial grade equipment (wet sanding belts, sandblast abrasives, industrial diamond grinding bits, etc.).

Many of these techniques are easily scaled up for work on doors, windows and other larger pieces. See my other blog posts or my website (www.artmotive.com) for architectural glass pieces.

Although these pieces can be enjoyed with ambient light (as in this photo above with natural daylight), or with light from a nearby table lamp (below):

With the light from the LED below the glass, the images really stand out at night, particularly against the dark of a window as a background.

For a better effect with wider designs, I am using two solar panels and light assemblies in the base:

I will be selling these pieces by direct mail order (they are 15cm to 30cm (6" to 12") tall) and can packed for safe shipment. Contact me by email: nimbusglass@airspeedwireless.ca for new designs, details and pricing, or by phone: (250) 320-3392 to make an appointment to visit me at my Shuswap Lake studio (south central B.C., Canada). 

New pieces can be seen on Instagram @chuckstj