Building the square panel – part 01 (Ruby Stained Glass Notes #08)

Hey Ruby friends,

Welcome to the eighth episode of the Ruby Stained Glass Notes. Last time, I shared three open questions about selling the panel.

If you’re new here, you can sign up to this pop-up newsletter about this crazy project of mine: a limited-edition stained-glass panel celebrating Ruby.

Let’s go!

I’ve started working on the square panel

This week, I’ve got to start working on the square version of the stained glass.

I decided to update the design of the background, which I initially found a bit boring.

I went with radiating pieces alternating between a light blue and a lively green. These two colours will pop nicely against the deep red of the Ruby without overstepping.

Adding the background makes it a slightly harder panel to make. Instead of having seven pieces, I now have close to twenty. This means more cuts, more grinding, more soldering. But it looks cool already!

The personality of glass

One thing that always amazes me is how different sheets of glass can have such different personalities.

Some sheets you can cut effortlessly, even for complex shapes. The breaking line follows the score perfectly and the sound of the diamond gliding across the glass is smooth.

Other sheets can break at the merest touch. I remember, some 20-odd years ago, how a large sheet of glass shattered into dozens of pieces with a loud bang. The internal tension had built up so much during its making that barely touching its surface with my diamond made it explode.

I was reminded of this today while cutting the red glass. The red sheet has quite the feisty personality. It’s also made of several thin layers of coloured glass: red, yellow, orange, white… When you cut a piece of this red, it tends to leave razor-sharp edges. So, don’t be like me: handle these carefully so you don’t cut yourself too 😅.

What are the next steps?

Next week, I’ll work on assembling and soldering the square panel. I’ll probably have received the patina by then, which I want to apply to both pieces so you can see their final look.

I still need to figure out how to sign the panels. The paint I’m using isn’t great for delicate details. Signing the panels with it is trickier than it should be. I need to find a solution for that.

Beyond that, I think we can expect to put the two versions to the vote in about a fortnight if everything goes to plan. Exciting!

That’s all for this week! If you have any questions or stuff you’d like me to talk about, hit reply and let me know.

Cheers,

Rémi - @remi@ruby.social