Monday, September 30, 2013

Frit Painting Collage - First to Final Fire

From first to final fire...

Following first "background wash fire" with second layer of glass applied then fired

Second background layer and base structures applied
Full frit and all structures built, ready for final fire
Completed piece



Sunday, September 15, 2013

Frit Painting - Building with Dimension and Structure

Panel after "background wash" firing and thin glass overlay applied
Panel with second layer of fine frit applied and background structures added

This will be the first wall frit painting I will have done since moving the studio.  It will be for the grand opening and then will move to the Ridgway Library for exhibit from November to January.  Now that I can look out my window and see the Cimarron Peaks and drive up the road a bit and gaze at Mt. Sneffels, it is so much easier to get the shadows and highlights true on the mountains.  Sometimes you just have to be able to see the real thing to understand its true architecture.  The brown box is the base layer of the cabin that will be built in 1/2 rods and noodles at the final step.

This is a method that I have devised--actually it is a blending of several different methods--where I not only apply frit for color and shadow, but build dimension through the layering of sheet glass and replicating natural and man-made structures using stringer, noodles, vitrigraph and cut glass as the focal points.  A former glass instructor insisted that we not just learn how to do frit work, but to develop one's own style and technique through experimentation.  Finally, finally, I think I have a developed a style that is uniquely mine.