Frit is your friend!
Fusing glass is amazing. We fusers cut glass and super heat it to make cool designs all our own. Solid colors make bold projects, but once you start playing with frit and see all the new and exciting possibilities, you’ll be eager to add this small material to all your big projects.
Frit is crushed fusible glass. Oceanside Compatible frit comes in 5 grain sizes: powder, fine, medium, course and mosaic. Each size is available in 8.5 oz. and 4 lb. jars. Each frit size has unique visual characteristics that you can push to ramp up your fused glass projects. Let’s go over the many possibilities one size at a time.
Powder
Powder has the silky consistency of confectioners’ sugar. It appears smooth and has uniform color coverage after fusing. Powders can be used as filler between cut glass pieces, to add shading, to add patterns and even as a repair tool. I use powder when I want super strong color saturation along with multiple color blends.
Shere Power is a great example. Wherever I wanted tight control over my line quality and solid color saturation, I used cut glass to represent the design. The cut glass was fixed to a clear base glass with fuser’s glue. The glue keeps the pieces from moving when applying the frit. Once the glue was dry, I poured powder frit between the pieces and blended the colors with a wide, dry paint brush and a palate knife. The blended powders give the art a beautiful painterly quality that dramatically contrasts the solid color fields surrounding it.
Other fun uses include using powder to add shadows to a solid base color. Apply medium and dark green powder on top of light green glass to add shading to your design. Or sift the powder over a stencil to add a crisp and intricate pattern to your project.
One of my favorite uses for powder is to fill inconvenient gaps between my cut glass pieces. Think of it like grouting tile. It’s easy and effective. Work a small amount of powder into the gaps with a narrow paint brush. For added pop, use a bright color that contrasts your design’s color palate.
Powder Pros:
It’s fast and easy to create subtle or dramatic color blends that support your specific creative vision. Adding shading and pattern is a snap.
Powder Cons:
Cleanup is time consuming. The powder requires meticulous cleanup to ensure the surrounding solid glass color isn’t muddied. After removing any excess power with a brush, I go over the surface of the glass with the corner of a damp towel or a damp Q-tip depending upon the size of the surface area being cleaned.
Tips for working with powder
Don’t be skimpy when you use powder frit. For bright vivid colors, it’s necessary to fill the space between your cut glass pieces to the top edge, in effect making the frit 1/8 inch thick.
Be daring and use high contrast colors, they display better in the finished piece.
Opal glass colors tend to give a more dramatic effect than transparent colors.
Know your glass colors. Powder frit specifically, looks lighter in the jar than the actual glass color. Light blue and dark blue look the same just as transparent light green and opal dark green look the same. If you’re not sure of the intensity or opacity of a powder, look at a larger size frit like, medium or course. Or find a piece of sheet glass with the same color code number, compare it to the frit and the frit color and shade will be obvious.
Powder in high concentration, like in a casting mold, looks milky after fusing. If you want to use powder in a mold, layer it with clear in medium, course or mosaic size frit. Using this technique will improve the transparency of the cast glass project.
Fine Frit
Fine frit has the consistency of granulated sugar. It appears grainy, like small uniform dots after fusing. Like powder, fine can be used to fill gaps between cut pieces of glass. The larger grain size makes it faster and easier to clean up than powder. Fine is also great for shading when you want a slight textural look to the shadows.
Fine Pros:
Cleanup is fast and easy. In the same application, it takes less material to do the same job with fine than it does with powder. Fine is a great filler to use between larger frit. It gives you complete color coverage and prevents the base glass from peeking through.
Fine Cons:
Color blends within this same size have a grainy appearance after fusing.
Tips for working with Fine
Use both transparent and opal glasses together for greater visual depth and to create shading.
Use fine frit together with other frit sizes to produce visual textures.
Medium Frit
Medium frit has the texture of course sand. When fused, medium frit retains the sand-like visual appearance. I use this size frit when I want to fill in larger areas with strong color quickly. It can also be used to create shading and color blends provided you welcome variations in the coverage which depend on how much frit or how little frit is applied.
Medium Pros:
Medium frit provides you with quick, easy coverage of large areas with strong color saturation.
Medium Cons:
This frit has a grainy look, and the base glass may peek through the frit unless your layer is thick.
Tips for working with Medium
Use both transparent and opal glasses in combination for greater visual depth and to create shading.
Use medium and fine frit together for new color blends and to add visual texture.
Course Frit
Course frit has the consistency of small pebbles. The pebble look remains after fusing. This frit is great for filling large areas where you want visual texture to contrast solid fields elsewhere in the project.
Course Pros:
Course frit covers a lot of area fast, and it leaves an appealing pattern behind after firing.
Course Cons:
The base glass will be visible between this larger size grain.I fill in around course with both medium and fine frit to intensify the color and hide the base.
Tips for working with Course
Use both transparent and opal glasses in combination for greater visual depth and to create shading.
Use fine and medium frit together with course to produce pleasing textures.
Mosaic Frit
Mosaic has a wide variety of glass shapes and sizes within the jar. This frit leaves a vein-like impression after fusing. I use mosaic when I have a lot of space to fill and when I want to create an organic pattern.
Tips for working with Mosaic
Clear glass layered on top of a color dilutes the color below. It’s like adding water to paint. I like to put clear mosaic pieces on top of select elements in my work to create subtle, lighter variations in the original glass color.
During assembly, glue the mosaic pieces down with fusers glue so they don’t move when you fill in the spaces in between.
Use both transparent and opal glasses in combination for greater visual depth and to build interest. Use fine, medium and course frit to fill gaps and produce interesting color combinations and exciting textures.
Put it all Together
Frit is a terrific medium for making landscapes or other images where you want to create an engaging depth of field. In nature, objects in the distance are lighter in color, and they visually have less detail. When making landscapes, I use the different frit sizes to emphasize those subtle differences.
I use powder to render the sky because I can get smooth, gradual color changes. I use fine frit to create the tree line and other filler foliage in the distance. The grain size stands out in front of the powder and yet doesn’t compete with the foreground. Medium frit works well for the mid-range elements that require more intricate detail, like bushes or flowers. Course frit is well suited for objects in the foreground, such as flowering plants or sweeping trees. These design elements carry more visual weight and tie the design together. Mosaic frit is great for specific up-close subject matter like a path or bridge. Such solid, recognizable focal points lure the viewer into the design.
Oceanside Compatible frit comes packed in 8.5 oz. and 4 lb. jars. For the larger sizes like course and mosaic you may consider crushing your own frit. The advantage to working from the jars though, is you have uniform sizes within the jars and one single color throughout. Plus, there’s no risk of contaminants like dirt or metal shavings that are present when you crush your own glass. Personally, I prefer to jump right into the design and fabrication phases rather than spend time swinging a hammer and sifting glass.
I hope this round-up entices you to start incorporating frit in your new work. It’s such a versatile and easy to apply material. You’ll love the creative flexibility if affords.
Want to learn more?
Join me in my upcoming Fusing with Frit webinar. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to SEE how you can use frit to jazz up your artwork. Join me and I’ll show you how to work with frit in a LIVE Fusing with Frit Webinar. I hope to see YOU Tuesday!
Happy fusing!
Lisa
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Fusing with Frit Webinar December 7, 2021
Clever glass fusers know that using strong line quality and bold color saturation in combination is an effective way to create stand-out works of art.
Now take such trustworthy techniques and sprinkle in gradient blends and subtle shading achieved using frit. You’ll be amazed just how quickly your artwork advances to a new, exciting level of sophistication.
In this comprehensive webinar, I’ll show you how to apply several methods I employ to add the striking, painterly-quality I’ve developed to improve the impact of your glass fusing projects.
I’ll demonstrate SEVEN projects in this Webinar, from sea turtles to flowering trees to beach scenes and more!
You’ll learn: how to evaluate a design to maximize the imagery, steps for successful fabrication and practical tips for building professional quality, finished pieces.
Along with my step-by-step instruction, you’ll also receive complete material lists and project-specific firing guides.
New 4-Day, Hands-on Classes for 2022!
What are you waiting for? It’s time to take your glass fusing to the next level!
Are you a lifelong learner?
As a life-long learner myself, I know it sometimes takes a change of scenery, a challenging new educational experience, and the encouragement of an experienced instructor to advance my skills and help me grow.
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NEW DATE FOR 2022!
Sculptural Fused Glass, 4-Day, Hands-on Workshop February 22 – 25, 2022
Only 2 seats available
This is the turning-point workshop you’ve been waiting for.
This is the turning-point workshop you’ve been waiting for.
It’s hard to describe what it’s like when I’m feeling the creative flow. Time flies. Hours pass in what I thought were minutes. My naturally distracted mind is focused on what my hands are doing, and nothing else. I get lost in my own world. When I return to reality, I feel rejuvenated and spiritually uplifted. That’s why I like sharing my studio space with others. I try to give them that experience and hope they feel the same inspiration and fulfillment I do. -Lisa
This class is for you! Any skill level can attend. Beginner, intermediate and advanced students alike will learn how to advance their glass fusing skills and expand their artistic style.
Join me and I’ll show you all the pro tips and tricks I use to make stunning 3-dimnesional art. You’ll learn how to combine advanced techniques in new ways to create extraordinary sculptural pieces of art.
You’ll leave class with several completed glass sculptures, my custom firing guides and a deeper understanding of sculptural fused glass fabrication. You’ll have the knowledge, confidence, and inspiration you’ve been craving to take your artwork to the next level.
Materials are included, that’s a $150.00 value!
May 2021 Student Testimonials
“My favorite thing about the class was the creative freedom – we were not required to make the same thing the same way. I was surprised by the variety and number items we made and the flexibility we had to go our own way with our projects. The glass studio was very comfortable and very clean with plenty of room.” -Ron
“My favorite thing about the class was the projects were tailored to our interests with user specific glass choices and design options. This makes the best type of learning environment. I loved the continued technical information that was used in daily discussions. Loved the amount of space we had for working and the use of top-quality tools and the hands-on assistance Lisa gave each one of us. You will hear and see me again. Thank you for your time and talent.” – Donna
“My favorite thing about the class was the creativity – putting things together in new ways – using different materials – and how welcome I felt. I was surprised how much we were able to get done and by Lisa’s ability to coach those of us on different levels. My least favorite part was that the class ended. The classroom setup was excellent – well organized. I really feel like Lisa gave me the tools to advance to a new level. It was worth the cost of the workshop, airfare, B&B, animal care and house sitting! Can’t wait to put what I leaned into practice and return for another workshop.” -Sue
Read more student testimonials on my website.
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Advanced Glass Fusing 4-Day, Hands-on Workshop March 22 – 25, 2022
In this class, you will push the boundaries art glass imposes. Students will explore innovative approaches to design and combine multiple advanced techniques to construct original art that reflects their own personal style. You’ll enjoy: the one-on-one instruction, making multifaceted projects, the well-equipped classroom, and the intimate class size.
You’ll love the concentrated, in-depth study and creative momentum you’ll gain while actively producing, nonstop for four consecutive days. You’ll leave class with a working knowledge of kiln operation, custom project specific firing guides, and the inspiration you’ve been craving to go bigger and do more elaborate works of fused glass art!
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