The word Giclée is French, and it translates into English as “to squirt” or to “to spurt.” What it refers to is the method of applying archival ink onto archival paper or canvas. A quiet revolution in the production of fine art prints has taken place over the last ten years as the technology of computers and ultra-precise and expensive ink jet printers have been developed. The advance in technology of the equipment was only part of it. The other major development was of archival inks and papers to be used with the printers.

What the technology has allowed us to do is to share the one-of-a-kind images created by Lura in her art quilts. Not everyone can afford one of her quilts, which can take up to two years to create. But she has made these art prints of the quilts available at reasonable prices so that her friends and students can enjoy them.

Lura’s quilts have been photographed with a large format view camera to produce either a 4x5-inch color transparency or an original digital image. If the original was a color transparency, the transparency was scanned on an industrial-grade drum scanner to create a digital image.

Once a digital file was created, then the image was color corrected under Lura’s supervision to produce the master file that would be used to create the special edition prints. Each of the prints is a work of art itself and is the collaboration of Lura and her husband Kerby, who make the prints.

Epson’s Ultrachrome inks are used with museum quality watercolor paper designed specifically for its wide color gamut and archival quality. All of the prints are signed and numbered by Lura in annual editions. The numbering is according to the year that the print was made and the number of the print in that size. Enclosed with each one is a certificate attesting to the originality of the print.

This is one more way you can enjoy the wonderful world of quilts.

(c) Lura Schwarz Smith, 2008
No part of this page can be reproduced in any way without the author's permission.
Site Created by Zbra Designs