Ash would be one of the better choices since it is stable and steam bends well,maple I don't think so. The "real experts" to ask are those who make flowers of wood.

Duplicate post deleted

This post was edited by klem1 on Wed, Jun 11, 14 at 14:27

Ash is a perfect material for the attempt. Paint it with a pearlized automotive paint and you may come very close. Use a cool white LED light source.
Casey

Look at birch veneer sheets.

Or fiberglass

Or non-bonded interfacing - stiffen it with a clear plastic

They didn't make it out of wood for a reason and that's flammability. Solid surface maybe.

Well, shades are made of fabric, and that's flammable.

if I did use veneer, I might want to use an iron-on interfacing to bond it to something like buckram, just for stiffness.