Broken Glass Light Cover

Inspiration

For my upcycling project I decided to follow the aesthetic of Gothic Stained glass. Often seen in cathedrals and churches, these fixtures can be used to fill viewers with any sort of emotion. These stained glass windows are characterized by their use of vibrant colors (usually blues, reds, and greens), and their complex designs. While they can be a mosaic of geometric patterns, they also often depict religious scenes, as they were often used as a way to inspire both awe and a sense of righteousness into church goers.

What drew me to this aesthetic for this project was the way that these pieces of art not only stand alone as works in their own right, but can transform a whole room into an art piece depending on the light. I initially thought of this idea as when I saw the way a candle seemingly made my room dance. This made me want to experiment with ways to inject more life into my room through the use of light. I decided to explore this through the lens of stained glass windows, using upcycled materials such as broken glass from different bottles to create my own miniature stained glass piece. My idea for this piece was to create a broken glass shell that I could place over the light in my room to hopefully soften and add some color to the lighting.

Vision/Desired Function

My vision for this project was a piece that would transform the light in my room into a mosaic art piece, adding to the feeling of warmth in the room. In order to achieve this I set out with some expectations of the final product. I wanted to create a dome shaped piece out of colored glass that would project the pattern of colors into the room. I wanted to emulate the stained glass windows I often saw in churches, with a mixture of blue, red, and green hued glass to make my room feel as if you were in an old cathedral. My goals were as follows: make a piece that can be easily removed and installed into the preexisting lights, project a pattern of different colors, and resemble a stained window in the French Gothic style. However, after obtaining my materials I realized I did not have the correct colors to achieve this aesthetic. Due to the large amounts of greens, I decided to change to a more art nouveau aesthetic. This aesthetic is characterized by drawing inspiration from nature, especially plants and flowers. Art nouveau has a whole subsection of glass pieces in this style, this informed me on how to proceed with my project.

Fabrication Process

For my fabrication process I began by obtaining materials. As I did not have direct access to multiple bottles of different colors, and in theme with upcycling, I approached the Dark Horse restaurant here in Boulder. I asked them if they had any colored bottles they would be willing to give me for my project. They agreed and let me pick out multiple bottles that they would otherwise recycle. This is where I ran into my first issue, all the bottles they had were either clear, green, or shades of brown. These colors didn’t really fit my initial idea of a heavy use of blue, however I decided to pivot to a green heavy design. Then I attempted to use a glass scorer to cut the bottles into cohesive shapes, however I struggled due to both the curvature of the bottles as well as the different distinct shapes of each bottle. Here again I decided to pivot to a more organic mosaic design, opting instead to randomly break the bottles and attempt to form a pattern out of the shards. I used warm soapy water to clean and remove all stickers from the bottles, and then I wrapped them in a towel and broke them with a hammer. Next, a used a bowl in a similar shape to the dome lights in my room to form the design. I layered packing tape over the bowl to help affix the shards of glass. Then I laid out all the shards by their color, and began fixing pieces to the shape. I tried to follow an alternating pattern, making sure to stagger each color in an attempt to stop the light from blending into a single color. I then used hot glue to hold the pieces of glass together. I chose hot glue over an epoxy or glass glue as it gave the structure more flexibility, allowing me to form the dome shape into the shape of the light. Finally, I removed the tape and placed the glass dome into the plastic light cover.

Final Product Description

The final product of my project as pictured is a collection of glass shards, reminiscent of a collection of sea glass you would find on a beach. When the light is off, it looks like a normal light, but when illuminated the pieces show prominently. The light was changed from a strong orange to a light green hue, both warming the vibe of the room while adding also acting as a sort of art piece.

Functional Goals

My final product somewhat met my functional goals, as it is easy to install and remove and did change the color of the light. However, I ran into an issue of the colors blending together into a single light green hue. When a object is held close to the light the different colors can be seen clearly, but as the light continues to travel outwards they blend together. Altogether, I believe it did meet the necessary functional goals, as the light still works, the piece I created is displayed, and it changed the lighting of the room.

Artistic Goals

Similar to my functional goals, my project met some aspects of my artistic vision but failed in others. While my initial goal of creating a piece in the French gothic style was not met, I believe that I did somewhat achieve an art nouveau aesthetic. While my design doesn’t incorporate any actual floral patterns, I believe it does emulate some “natural” formations. During my fabrication process I drew the connection to sea glass, as the organic shapes and colors of the randomly broken pieces looked like the pieces of glass found on a beach. This in turn with the lightly opaque plastic light cover I feel gave this piece the vibe of a collection of sea glass in a bowl.

Next Steps

I will be keeping this project, as I believe it adds some character to my room, while still being easily removable for when I move. I may attempt to refine this artifact, especially if I come across some new colored pieces of glass. The hot glue I used can be removed relatively easily to change or add new pieces to help enhance the ocean feel of this artifact. In the future I would attempt a similar project, with some key differences. I enjoyed the process of working with lighting and glass, however I am still keen on attempting this in the cathedral stained glass aesthetic. To achieve this I would have to either outright buy colored panes of glass, or look at thrift stores for pieces I could recycle. I think I would like to attempt a more traditional piece for this as well, creating a full lamp shade and using metal solder to affix the pieces together. I think I would also use larger pieces of each color of glass in an attempt to stop the light from blending together as quickly as it does.

References

“French Gothic Stained Glass Windows.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Dec. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Gothic_stained_glass_windows. 

“Art Nouveau.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Feb. 2025, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Nouveau.

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