The atelier
The stone sets the terms
Glowstone is the atelier of Jonathan Amann in Hillsboro, Oregon, where single geological specimens become oil lamps made to last.
01
Selection
Every work begins as one specimen: a quartz cluster, a geode, a slab of labradorite, a fossil cut open to show its chambers. A specimen is chosen for its form and for how it behaves with light inside it.
02
Adaptation
The lamp is fitted to the stone, not the other way around. The position of the flame, the size of the reservoir and the number of wicks follow the shape of each piece, which is why capacities differ from work to work and why some carry two flames. Each stone is drilled, fitted with an oil reservoir and a glass wick holder, and finished by hand.
03
The exact object
Each work is photographed lit and unlit before it is listed. The object in the photographs is the object that ships, with its own edges, marks and inclusions.
04
Made to remain
Nothing in a Glowstone is designed to be used up. The stone is not consumed, the fiberglass wick does not burn away in normal use, and the reservoir is refilled rather than replaced.
How materials are described
A place of origin is stated as fact only where the studio has recorded the source of that specimen. Where it has not, the record says so rather than guessing, even when a work's name recalls a place a material is known from.