Frit-aytious Beads or it's better with Ocelot Spots

So Lynn asked yesterday if I was sure that she couldn't use frit for glass fusing. Frit is used in fusing all the time so yes, Lynn you can use it to fuse. Usually, frit is applied on larger pieces so if you want to swirl it like I did yesterday, you have to have a piece large enough to swirl when the glass is molten in your kiln. In fact, here's a picture of me doing just that with a large wall piece - I'm "dragging" the glass with a metal tool:


By the way, that was one AWEsome class I took with Dan Fenton one of the early artists in the stained glass/fused glass movement. I've used a couple of frits on fused cabs and I'll make recommendations at the end of post. You'll see why in a moment.

So, today I took out the tried and true frit mix Ocelot Spots



Ocelot Spots is a failsafe mix - it performs well for most beadmakers. I've used a base of transparent blue to highlight the occasional blues you can get from Ocelot Spots. Swirled it looks great and not swirled it looks great too!

If you're going to try fusing with frit, I'd suggest a frit that looks good unswirled. Ocelot Spots is a good choice - it'll give an animal print like look when unswirled. You may not get any of the blues that happen as a result of the flame but the ambers, browns and black will look lovely. I think the Wild Roses mix I used yesterday would look nice unswirled also.

If you've gone to the torch or the kiln because Val's book has inspired you, please share and let me know what you Fritsonality is!