If necessity was the mother of Trent Shearn’s invention, alchemy was her mate. His custom-designed, hand-built light fixtures are grand in scale and stunning in appearance. These lights balance classic ironwork with mid-Century style stained glass and organics steeped in the earth’s caldron for billions of years: crystal and amethyst, nautilus shell and ammonite fossil, petrified wood and semi-precious gemstone. They are born of necessity, skill and, perhaps, a little sorcery.

“They’re art pieces. They’re sculptures. They’re pretty much one of a kind. I refer to them as architectural jewelry … jewelry for the home,” said their creator, who is at once a building contractor, designer, iron sculptor, woodworker and “dabbling” geologist.

StoneLight Works, a spin-off of Shearn’s contracting business, has been 15 years in the making. With a collection of single pendants, multi-tiered chandeliers and sconces, StoneLight is represented in art galleries and designer showrooms throughout California, the Southwest and Rocky Mountain Regions. This collection is all custom-made and Shearn embraces opportunities to design explicitly for clients looking for “an alternative to the prevalence of western motif lighting.”

While optional colors and designs are available, Shearn’s specialty is chandeliers that not only provide lighting for large-scale spaces - they have been designed and scaled for entry foyers, great rooms, dining rooms, pool tables and breakfast nooks - but also inspire awe through the timelessness of his design. It’s difficult to tell if they are centuries old or contemporary. “There certainly are a number of options that can be created. I have not saturated the market with these lights. I have certain pieces that I have multiples of. It’s like having a numbered series, like numbered serigraphs. But a lot of mine are number one of one,” he said.

A California native, Shearn emerged from the Central Valley to attend architecture school. There, he discovered an affinity for building. Taking this experience into the marketplace, Shearn earned a contractor’s license at a very young age, and began a profession in architectural design and building. His early career was spent in Sonora, “the motherlode of the Sierras,” where he specialized in historic Western and Victorian restoration, and designed everything he built. Then, Shearn moved to Tahoe, where for about a decade he switched channels, building big, rustic, beautiful lake front homes. “Tahoe is really where my heart is … I still consider Tahoe my home,” he said.

In the late 80’s Shearn was given the opportunity to build a 10,000 square foot stone and hewn log home that he designed, on a Carmel-area ranch overlooking the ocean. To take the job, he moved to Carmel, where he still lives in a small but artful house overlooking the ocean. During the final stages of the project, Shearn began to search - in vain - for light fixtures of a scale to match rooms with 30-foot open beam ceilings. “Standard lighting available looked like toy piñatas to me,” he said.

He needed something different. So, Shearn decided to custom design and build the lights himself for this home. “When the light bulb went on, I was sitting in my studio, sketching out the concept for the lights. The pendant tapered down to a point like an arrow. I had a crystal point on my desk and I wasn’t sure how to complete the bottom of the pendant...until I laid the crystal down on the sketch and realized that was the missing link I was looking for,” he said.

Little did he realize that his efforts would grow into such an enjoyable spin-off. “StoneLight Works started out as a hobby - an excuse to travel, ski and fish in the places I love - and has grown into a really inspirational thing for me,” he said. “Delivering and installing these light sculptures has afforded me the opportunity to see some incredible architecture and to meet some great people.”

Fifteen years later, Shearn’s creations - fabricated in his Carmel studio/showroom - are unparalleled. “What I’ve seen over the years is that all these really large-scale homes ended up having the same chandeliers in that Molesworth western motif that became redundant to me … I came from a different place. It’s original art, I guess you could say. I don’t want to copy that stuff,” he said.

“They are sort of Frank Lloyd Wright meets Tiffany combined with a Native American twist. The illumination is anywhere between 300 and 1,000 watts lighting the glass and crystal. When you dim the light, the crystal dims as well. The stained glass in a Chevron arrow pattern is made out of iridescent and beveled glass,” Shearn explained.

When the light is on, it rain-washes the wall and ceiling and puts out the aura of the colors of the light into the room. In the right room, during the day, the 100-plus bevels in the stained glass pick up sunlight and throw it around. The spectral bows stretch and float with the movement of the sun.

The armatures for the pendants are hand-forged iron with crystals, fossils or hand blown glass faceted into them. Other designs in the collection include hand-hewn log “arrow” shafts. The arrowhead and fletch are carved out of crystal and hand blown glass, fitted with agate “feathers” and lit from within. “Once they’re hung there is an elegance to them. The ironwork is formidable. The stained glass gives them a delicate, light element and the crystals, a magical quality. There’s sort of a yin/ yang thing going on.”

The largest piece in the collection, “Orion’s Nebula,” stands six feet tall and weighs 300 pounds. “It’s quite an expensive light and most electricians don’t want to touch it,” Shearn said. That’s why the artist makes his rounds, delivering, assembling and installing these spectacular pieces. “When people see my lights they’re stunned by them. There’s nothing really like them. It gives me great satisfaction,” he said.

To see some of these architectural jewels, visit StoneLight Works’ website at www.stonelightworks.com. To speak to Trent in person, call (831) 626-2940.