Original Art - refers to art that is created by the artist's hand and is not reproduced mechanically.

Unique - this term is applied to original artwork. All original, one-of-a-kind pieces are unique works.

Limited Edition - In art, a limited edition is one of a sequential number of images in a published edition for which a predetermined number of impressions were from a plate or master. Once these are made, no more impressions are to be taken, assuring that the edition is "limited." The number of impressions in a limited edition should be information that is available to the consumer.

Both original graphics and reproductions are offered as "limited editions" from artists and art publishers.

Edition - The total number of prints or reproductions made of a specific image and issued together from a publisher.

Artist's Proof - (This may be penciled in at the bottom of a print as A/P) Prints outside the standard edition which are intended for the artist's own private collection and use as part of the original artist-publisher agreement.

Signed and Numbered - At the bottom of each print in an edition, the artist pencils in his signature and numbers the print. The numbering appears as one number over another, for example, 15/30. This indicates that this was the 15th print to be signed and that there were 30 prints in all.
Limited Edition Reproduction - (Sometimes referred to as "offset lithograph.") Art that has been photo mechanically reproduced from another medium and printed by one of several methods, often by offset presses. The edition size has been predetermined by the publisher, generally based on the artist's popularity and sales potential.

Prints - Original graphics also are "limited editions," but prints produced by original means - and do not exist already in another medium - are considered multiple original prints, not reproductions.

Mixed Media - Artists often combine two or more print making methods to produce unique mixed-media works. Sometimes collage techniques are added to prints to produce a mixed-media piece.

Giclée - An image that is created or scanned into a computer, then printed on archival paper with pigment based inks on a professional ink-jet printer. (The term literally means "spurt " or "spray.") These special inks produce incredibly true colours without the dot pattern associated with offset lithography. The Giclée has continued to evolve, and has become an accepted printing method of archival quality, with a colour fastness lasting at least 75 years or longer. A giclée can be either original art (when the image is created originally in the computer) or a reproduction (when an image is scanned into a computer, then printed.)

Photography - Photographic prints can be made from photographic negatives, positive transparencies or digital images, and printed on a wide variety of substrates, including regular photo paper, or archival (Giclée) fine art paper and canvas.

Batik - is both an art and a craft, using cloth, wax and dyes. It has been refined for many centuries in the Java region of Indonesia. The word Batik originates from the Javanese word "tik" which means dot. To make a batik - selected areas of the cloth are blocked out by brushing or drawing hot wax on it. The cloth is then dyed with various colours. The parts covered in wax resist the dye and remain the original fabric colour. This process of waxing and dyeing, is repeated a number of times, until the final elaborate, vivid design is created. Each handmade batik is a unique one of a kind.

Intaglio - From an Italian word meaning "cut in," intaglio prints are made from images cut below the surface of the printing plate. Ink is forced into these cutout images and then forced onto the paper in a press exerting great pressure. Intaglio prints include etchings, aqua tints, dry points, engravings, soft-ground etchings and mezzotints. In some processes, the lines are cut out by hand with tools; in others, they are bitten out by acid.

Lampwork - A ancient technique of using a flame to melt glass. It involves the process of melting glass in a hot flame onto a steel mandrel (needle). Molten glass and the mandrel are brought together on the flame, where the glass is wound around the mandrel until the desired size, colour and style are achieved. The flame used to melt the glass is produced by mixing propane and oxygen. Once a bead is formed and the artist is finished with the actual creation process, there are several more steps involved , before the bead is ready to be used in fine jewellery. The bead is a placed in a kiln to start the "annealing" process. Annealing is the process of bringing down the temperature of the glass very slowly, which then makes the glass bead very strong and durable.

Raku - Is a Japanese name dating back to the 16th century. Roughly translated, it means contentment, enjoyment, and pleasure. Today the word Raku is used to describe a technique where artists remove the glowing, red hot pottery from a kiln and then place it in various combustible materials. When the material bursts into flame, a cover is quickly placed over the piece and it is left in an atmosphere robbed of oxygen where the reduction process now takes place. This process causes unglazed clay to turn black, while creating iridescent metallic flashes and other subtle lines and cracks in the glaze. After reduction the piece is often cooled quickly with water to prevent reoxidation.