Mother Mary Sconce

Lead Designers Jake Oliveira

Entry Description

The iconic depiction of the halo in Romanesque art served as the visual origin point for the Mother Mary Sconce. Designer Jake Oliveira set out to create a luminaire that would honor a mother’s protective, enveloping embrace of her child. The first stand-out feature of the piece is it’s composition, which consists of an ethereal resin bulb that seems to float effortlessly within the shade. The immaculate fusion of both elements was the result of endless hours of engineering and iteration, utilizing 3D printed and polyurethane tools. The final solution established an angled shade with an architectural overhang that breaks the line of sight, hiding all fastening from any vantage point.
Since contrast was such an essential ingredient in the Mother Mary Sconce’s makeup, careful material selection, and the union between the chosen materials was paramount. The shade is fabricated from porous sand-cast metal, specifically brass, bronze, or aluminum. This is paired with a sleek resin bulb which is poured via the modern technique of silicone slip-casting. A highly refined, polished lip on the shade’s edge helps to coalesce the pitted nature of the metal with the sculptural smooth bulb.