There didn't seem to be any point in writing about my second glass class until I had photos of the final projects to share, so I'm a day late in posting. Thursday I took my second class at Glass Expo: Painting with Frit (taught by Lisa Vogt).
For those who don't know, frit is basically crushed glass. It can come in a range of sizes from mosaic-size chunks (about 1/2 inch) to fine powder (like flour). This class was intended to teach us how to get a painterly effect in glass by creating images using frits in different sizes and colors, in addition to solid pieces of glass.
We all worked on the same basic first pattern, the eye of a peacock feather. Color choices and exact cutting of the pieces was up to us. It was frustrating to have to work in a hurry and not have the proper tools (like grinders) to be able to get pieces that were nicely shaped nad fit well together, but that's the way it was.
The first photo below is of my peacock feather before it was fired. You can see the solid red, yellow and clear pieces, as well as the piles of blue frit. The largest frit I used was about the size of apple seeds. As usual, the photos leave something to be desired with regards to color rendering.
Here's the same piece after firing. I was disappointed that the iridized (metallic) mint green frit ended up so clear and that there didn't end up being much color variation in the blue frit. It was supposed to have a gradation of color. Glare from a lamp washed out the upper right corner - the reds are still nice and dark.
We all worked on a variety of second projects. Since I was more interested in exploring the technique than creating a unique piece of art, I chose to interpret a woodland scene template the instructor provided. This proved to be an interesting exercise as she only had three shades of green frit. I ended up mixing frits to create my own colors to create a fall scene, much like a painter would mix paints to create the colors she needs. The difference is that paints blend completely, whereas the individual pieces of frit retained their own color. I think the result actually represents well the way the leaves of a tree are not all the same shade.
This first photo shows the piece before firing. You can see that I used very few solid pieces of glass; almost all components are made of frit.
Here's the fired product. It's no masterpiece, but I rather like it. The white spots are all light reflections.
Lisa Blanchard also took this class, but I didn't get any photos of her finished pieces. She did a great desert sunset scene with prickly pear cactus. If I can get a photo, I'll add it to this post.
I'm excited to try frit painting using some designs of my own. I really liked the instructor's work, and look forward to not having to rush to get a piece done. There are some exciting possibilities to explore.
