Changes Coming
I intend to retire from the cube business next year. It's been amazing, however I've been doing this quite a long time and there's other art I need to attend to. You may want to get some glass in advance, or make other plans.
This is a new plan and not set in stone at this time. CrystalProteins may shut down next year, or it may stay partly open transitionally. My etching partner may want to take over some of what I do, or I may find a successor here.
Could you or someone you know be called to the Way of the Cube? About that.
More news as it breaks.
— Bathsheba, May 2026
CrystalProteins is a project of Bathsheba Grossman, sculptor and designer.
In 2002 she was experimenting with subsurface laser damage images in glass, when a biologist friend asked for a model of ferritin. It's a lovely molecule with cubic symmetry, plainly an excellent subject, and soon she was learning about molecular visualization, writing code, and breaking glass. Her love of science, sculptor's perfectionism, and CAD/CAM skills soon led to a wider practice, and CrystalProteins was launched.
In 2003 CrystalProteins partnered with Precision Crystal for manufacturing. They get the glass out the door without fail, and their cheerful open-mindedness is priceless: always ready to etch something that's never been done, in time to make the deadline. If your laser glass project doesn't need our specialty in scientific imaging, by all means contact them.
Since then we've etched thousands of molecules small and large, plus a fascinating variety of other scientific subjects. Our mission is simple: keep on zapping glass for science, because data physicalization is interesting.
Bathsheba Grossman
FAQ
- What's the biggest glass available?
The laser can shoot through about 9cm of glass, so 10cm is the largest useful thickness. We have a 10cm cube, a 10 x 10 x 20cm rectangle, and a 20 x 20 x 8cm slab. Larger sizes (though not thicknesses) can be etched, but you would need to source the glass blank along with a test sample to ensure that it's etchable. - Is there a giftwrap option?
No, but the glass pieces are packed in individual boxes, sturdy black cardboard with fabric lining and magnetic closure. We can't guarantee that every box will arrive without a scratch – they're there to protect the glass rather than to stay pristine – but in general they are suitable for presentation. - What's the setup fee for?
Our expertise and experience with scientific imaging for laser glass, and the individual attention that we give to each design. If these skills aren't required, we won't hesitate to make a referral rather than do the work. -
Why is shipping so high?
We use UPS, and while it is the cheapest and most reliable way we've found, there's no denying overseas shipping can be brutal. Glass is heavy: an 8cm cube is ½kg, a 10cm cube almost 3kg.
Interleukin
Special Thanks
- Eric Martz, titan of molecular visualization.
- The Richardson Laboratory, authors of Kinemage.
- Ken Brakke, author of Surface Evolver.
- The Worldwide Protein Data Bank Foundation, without which this work would be impossible.
- Raymond Keller, protein samurai from 2005 to 2013.
