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Light is the leading requirement of enjoying glass.
Localized light adds to the experience with a few exceptions such as
paperweights and paperweight style vessels where the detailed inclusions are
featured. Lamps, windows, vessels, patterned paperweights, and other glass
objects provide additional rewards when spot lighted, up lighted, washed or
otherwise provided with feature lighting. This page discusses a few of
those methods.
 WASH LIGHT - If glass is displayed with many pieces in the same
space, be it a set of shelves or across a long shelf, it may not be practical to
highlight individual pieces, so that a restricted wash of light attracts the eye
to the display compared to the darker surroundings. Because of its "white"
characteristics and easy aiming, halogen lighting in the form of high or low
voltage floods is a favorite for this purpose. MR-16 low voltage miniature
reflector lamps are interchangeable in most fixtures that take them and come in
spot, narrow, medium and wide flood in various wattages. Because they are
12 volts, safe for contact, the housings can be placed on exposed wires, rods,
or brackets that allow adjustment in space including placement in midair with
the slenderest of supports. 120 volt medium base screw in floods and spots
are also available in several sizes - all of which have heavy glass envelopes
for capturing hot fragments in the event of failure. Caution: Any
halogen bulb where the small cartridge surrounding the filament is exposed must
not be touched with the bare hands, the oils and acids if left on the quartz
will lead to early failure - use a cloth to handle. Multiple shelves may
require careful arrangement of the glass so that shadows of pieces on the higher
shelves avoid the lower pieces.
UP LIGHT - Up lighting is available in three significant forms -
a transparent shelf of glass or plastic with lights shining through it, a
frosted shelf with light immediately below it, and individual lights directly
below each piece.
Clear shelves lighted from below allow placement of fixtures below eyesight
while putting shadows and light patterns on the walls behind the glass.
Often it is not possible to light the front or upper parts of opaque pieces so
this may not be the best choice unless some top lighting is also available.
Frosted shelves with the lights directly below are ideal for fluorescent bulbs
which given even light and solve the problem of heat in a confined space.
A shelf can be made rather thick for housing even larger diameter bulbs if the
thickness tapers to a relatively thin front edge and newer T8 bulbs take
two-thirds the space of T12 (the number is 8ths of an inch in the diameter.)
With care it is easy to build custom units, the primary requirement being a
grounded metal plate within 1/2" of the bulb along its length and a metal
housing for the connections if the glass/plastic lifts off.
Up lighting for individual pieces normally requires matching the diameter of the
base to a mask that directs the light into the base and shadows the sides.
Obviously, this works better with non-opaque pieces. The mask can be thin
cardboard on a clear or translucent surface with the light below, but more
spectacular results occur when there is a fixture closely matched to the piece,
perhaps matted to exact size. One caution is heat - an MR16 or other
source placed closely below a heavy chunk of glass can break the glass.
Placing it lower down with vent holes or providing forced air via a quiet
computer fan may be required.
SPOT LIGHT - Lights picking out individual pieces of glass and
providing sharp shadows require the most setup but may produce the greatest
effect. As with wash lights, the availability of a variety of wattages and
beam spreads of bulbs allows more convenient lighting from conducting wire
mounts. For larger pieces of glass and those lighted from further away,
small fixtures with lenses modeled after stage lighting allow placing a small
circle of light 8-10 feet away from the fixture. There are a huge number
of fixtures available for concealed lighting with the trade off that once
installed, the object can be moved but the fixture is fixed.
WINDOW LIGHT - Window light is back lighting and provided the
actual window does not glare and overwhelm the glass, can be delightful.
Light from the east, north, or west is more likely to avoid glare most of the
day compared to south light although a shade may subdue the south light
appropriately. Using a window also provides a more or less shifting
pattern of light and shadow to play through the glass which can add interest to
long term viewing. Providing an artificial back light that approaches the
quality of outdoor light is difficult and seems rarely tried.
A certain amount of caution is needed when window light exposes the glass to
direct sunlight, which may happen with a low sun in winter even when most of the
year is indirect. Spherical glass objects - mostly clear paperweights,
globes at the base of vases, etc. - can focus the sun's rays into a bright spot
that may heat the shelf or paper on the shelf to the point that charring may
occur, perhaps leading to a fire.
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TIMERS - If the purpose of the lighting is to show off pieces to
the best advantage when guests are present, then a switch may be the best choice
for getting the light on. In olden days it was common to have an outlet
connected to a switch near the door to allow a floor or table lamp to be turned
on upon entering. This seems much less common today. However, a
variety of remote switching options are available to provide the same
convenience and effect. These range from sound activated ("Clap On, Clap
Off") to single and multifunction wireless remotes (X10, Plug n'Power)
For glass in a case, modules are available which have a wire that connects a
hinge to a control box allowing the hinge to be a touch switch for low, medium, and
high lighting. The modules can be used with any metal object: the human body's
capacitance is sensed to change the setting.
But timers are the best choice if the purpose of the lighting is to delight the
owner. As part of the ambient lighting, the indirect light from the
lighted glass provides a background for the room and accents the glass, while
not hurting the security for a lived in look. Timers come in electronic
and mechanical form and most suffer from the problem of losing track of time if
the power fails. A few free standing electronic units have a battery
backup on the time so they can continue correct timing of light when power
returns. The X10 system, besides allowing remote control, provides free
standing timers as well as a unit programmed from a computer that retains
settings through a power failure. Enhanced software can change the
settings to match changing sunrise and sunset times during the year.
More complicated built in lighting, security, and audio setups are becoming
available as household control appliances. |
