Provided herein is an artificial dielectric material comprising a plurality of sheets of a dielectric material and a plurality of conductive elements disposed in holes made in the sheets of the dielectric material, wherein each conductive element is a three-dimensional object consisting of side plates connected to a central support and disposed to form conductive surfaces surrounding an empty space. Also provided are conductive elements and focusing lenses comprising the artificial dielectric materials and conductive elements along with methods for manufacture of such materials and method for their use. The artificial dielectric materials, lenses and their manufacture may provide desirable dielectric and radio wave focusing properties compared with known materials and manufacturing advantages.