Abstract: A translucent panel is made up of one or more pieces of translucent wood. Each piece of wood is cut to less than one-half inch in thickness in the direction of the grain of the wood and is then impregnated with an initially liquid polymerizable material curable to a translucent solid. The influx of this material into the cells of the wood is induced by a sequence of intermiscible liquids, and/or by vacuum, with provision being made for the clearing of air bubble accumulation as the liquid displaces the entrained air in the wood. The absorbed material is cured so that the tubular cell structure of the wood is filled with a translucent solid, thereby causing the wood to become translucent. The completed panel is installed in proximity to a light source to form a light fixture.