Ben Young can transform glass into seawater. Well, almost, anyway.
The 31-year-old self-taught artist has made a name for himself creating intricate glass sculptures that uncannily resemble moving water. Young crafts his sculptures -- all painstakingly made and planned by hand (no computers or other high-tech equipment!) -- by layering sheets of gleaming glass, one on top of the next.
“I work with 2D shapes and have to figure out how to translate that into a 3D finished product," Young said, per his website. "I love watching … the different way the light plays inside the glass. I love the liquid qualities the glass brings with it. It enables me to play with lighting and watch the glass react."
Young, a New Zealand native who now lives in Sydney, Australia, has been working with glass for almost 15 years. A boatbuilder by trade and an avid surfer, Young "was inspired to capture the perfection and raw power of the sea and of the perfect wave," he says on his site.
Last week, an image of one of Young's pieces went viral after being shared online by an impressed Redditor. Young told The Huffington Post in an email this week that he's been blown away by the recent attention.
"I love what I do and am proud of my work but to get such amazing feedback from around the world is so humbling," he wrote. "Motivation is at an all-time high, lots more ideas to turn it to reality."
For more on Ben Young and his artistic process, watch the short video -- created by videographer David Child -- below: