Mudnjoy@AOL.COM on thu 23 nov 00
Steve,
We are celebrating Thanksgiving here in the states. Yet another reason to
eat and a paid holiday for the outside employed.
I read lots of fiction and have never known the meaning of several terms.
If you've got a spare minute
fortnight how long is it, and does it pertain to particular days like a
weekend?.
How much in American money is a pound.?
How much in American does a stone weigh?
Any American terms puzzle you?
Hey why do you think we named it Floradah?
My web site is in the process of an upgrade, try it out next week.
Thanks,
Joy In Tucson
URL: http://holdreadstudios.hypermart.net/
E-mail: Mudnjoy@aol.com
"Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want."
Steve Mills on fri 24 nov 00
Hello Joy,
A fortnight is fourteen days (two weeks), no special starting point!
A UK pound is worth $1.40 at the last count (it varies from day-to-day)
A stone is 14 pounds
There aren't any American term that puzzle me, amuse me, yes, just some
of them mean very different things over here & t'other way about!
"the Americans and the English are two countries separated by a common
language", I don't know who's said that, but its very true!
Steve
Bath
UK
In message , Mudnjoy@AOL.COM writes
>Steve,
> We are celebrating Thanksgiving here in the states. Yet another reason to
>eat and a paid holiday for the outside employed.
> I read lots of fiction and have never known the meaning of several terms.
>If you've got a spare minute
>fortnight how long is it, and does it pertain to particular days like a
>weekend?.
>How much in American money is a pound.?
>How much in American does a stone weigh?
>Any American terms puzzle you?
>
>Hey why do you think we named it Floradah?
>
>My web site is in the process of an upgrade, try it out next week.
>Thanks,
>Joy In Tucson
>URL: http://holdreadstudios.hypermart.net/
>E-mail: Mudnjoy@aol.com
>"Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want."
>
--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
Richard Jeffery on fri 24 nov 00
Nah - ceramics is posh, that's all...
[although I'm never sure what to call clay things that aren't pots...]
Richard
Bournemouth UK
www.TheEleventhHour.co.uk
-----Original Message-----
From: Ceramic Arts Discussion List [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On
Behalf Of Snail Scott
Sent: 24 November 2000 17:31
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: British terms
I have met people, mainly British or Australian, who use the
term 'ceramics' to mean slip-cast hobby stuff, and 'pottery'
to mean handbuilt or thrown clay. The common usage I am
familiar with is that 'pottery' is functional ware or a close
cousin (you know, 'pots'), and ceramics is any use of fired clay -
functional, sculptural, slip-cast, industrial, whatever. An
English woman I met once insisted, however, that my large stoneware
sculpture was 'pottery' and NOT 'ceramics', and became quite
worked up about the issue!
Is this in fact a 'British-ism', is it universally used there,
or is it less geographically specific in its use? (I have heard
a few Americans use these definitions, but not many.)
I'm probably opening a can of linguistic worms that I'm gonna regret!
-Snail
At 10:16 AM 11/24/00 +0000, you wrote:
>Hello Joy,
>
>A fortnight is fourteen days (two weeks), no special starting point!
>A UK pound is worth $1.40 at the last count (it varies from day-to-day)
>A stone is 14 pounds
>There aren't any American term that puzzle me, amuse me, yes, just some
>of them mean very different things over here & t'other way about!
>"the Americans and the English are two countries separated by a common
>language", I don't know who's said that, but its very true!
>
>Steve
>Bath
>UK
>
>
>
>>How much in American money is a pound.?
>>How much in American does a stone weigh?
>>Any American terms puzzle you?
>>
>>Hey why do you think we named it Floradah?
>>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Snail Scott on fri 24 nov 00
I have met people, mainly British or Australian, who use the
term 'ceramics' to mean slip-cast hobby stuff, and 'pottery'
to mean handbuilt or thrown clay. The common usage I am
familiar with is that 'pottery' is functional ware or a close
cousin (you know, 'pots'), and ceramics is any use of fired clay -
functional, sculptural, slip-cast, industrial, whatever. An
English woman I met once insisted, however, that my large stoneware
sculpture was 'pottery' and NOT 'ceramics', and became quite
worked up about the issue!
Is this in fact a 'British-ism', is it universally used there,
or is it less geographically specific in its use? (I have heard
a few Americans use these definitions, but not many.)
I'm probably opening a can of linguistic worms that I'm gonna regret!
-Snail
At 10:16 AM 11/24/00 +0000, you wrote:
>Hello Joy,
>
>A fortnight is fourteen days (two weeks), no special starting point!
>A UK pound is worth $1.40 at the last count (it varies from day-to-day)
>A stone is 14 pounds
>There aren't any American term that puzzle me, amuse me, yes, just some
>of them mean very different things over here & t'other way about!
>"the Americans and the English are two countries separated by a common
>language", I don't know who's said that, but its very true!
>
>Steve
>Bath
>UK
>
>
>
>>How much in American money is a pound.?
>>How much in American does a stone weigh?
>>Any American terms puzzle you?
>>
>>Hey why do you think we named it Floradah?
>>
Khaimraj Seepersad on fri 24 nov 00
Good Day to All ,
Snail ,
down here in the former colonies , pottery is what a serious
person does . Ceramics is the mould stuff , with visions of
old ladies , armed with little plastic jars and glassy , multi -
coloured yard fowl .
For us the English lady would have been complimenting you .
A fortnight is 14 days , a stone =14 pounds and there is also
one hundredweight , the shilling / bob , a lorry , a booth and the
ever popular Tate and Lyle Golden syrup , best for pancakes.
- yummy !!
>From the former British West Indies .
Khaimraj
-----Original Message-----
From: Snail Scott
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Date: 24 November 2000 12:01
Subject: Re: British terms
>I have met people, mainly British or Australian, who use the
>term 'ceramics' to mean slip-cast hobby stuff, and 'pottery'
>to mean handbuilt or thrown clay. The common usage I am
>familiar with is that 'pottery' is functional ware or a close
>cousin (you know, 'pots'), and ceramics is any use of fired clay -
>functional, sculptural, slip-cast, industrial, whatever. An
>English woman I met once insisted, however, that my large stoneware
>sculpture was 'pottery' and NOT 'ceramics', and became quite
>worked up about the issue!
>
>Is this in fact a 'British-ism', is it universally used there,
>or is it less geographically specific in its use? (I have heard
>a few Americans use these definitions, but not many.)
>
>I'm probably opening a can of linguistic worms that I'm gonna regret!
>
> -Snail
>
>
>
>
>At 10:16 AM 11/24/00 +0000, you wrote:
>>Hello Joy,
>>
>>A fortnight is fourteen days (two weeks), no special starting point!
>>A UK pound is worth $1.40 at the last count (it varies from day-to-day)
>>A stone is 14 pounds
>>There aren't any American term that puzzle me, amuse me, yes, just some
>>of them mean very different things over here & t'other way about!
>>"the Americans and the English are two countries separated by a common
>>language", I don't know who's said that, but its very true!
>>
>>Steve
>>Bath
>>UK
>>
>>
>>
>
>>>How much in American money is a pound.?
>>>How much in American does a stone weigh?
>>>Any American terms puzzle you?
>>>
>>>Hey why do you think we named it Floradah?
>>>
>
>___________________________________________________________________________
___
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
>
Michael McDowell on sat 25 nov 00
Snail wrote:
"I have met people, mainly British or Australian, who use the
term 'ceramics' to mean slip-cast hobby stuff, and 'pottery'
to mean handbuilt or thrown clay. The common usage I am
familiar with is that 'pottery' is functional ware or a close
cousin (you know, 'pots'), and ceramics is any use of fired clay -
functional, sculptural, slip-cast, industrial, whatever. An
English woman I met once insisted, however, that my large stoneware
sculpture was 'pottery' and NOT 'ceramics', and became quite
worked up about the issue!"
"I'm probably opening a can of linguistic worms that I'm gonna regret!"
Snail, I wouldn't worry. That can has been open so long the worms are getting
stale. I'm located in the extreme Northwest of the U.S. Here the usage you
describe as "British" is very common. I imagine that you will find such to be
the case in any english speaking area where low fire slip cast whiteware has
been extensively popular. I am also familiar with your preferred pattern of
usage. It's yet another example of the old Shakespearean adage "A rose by any
other name would smell as sweet..." You just need to qualify your usage of the
word "ceramic" according to your audience. I like to think of it as a word
with multiple meanings rather than correct and incorrect usage. After all,
some people would wonder how we can "throw" pots without them getting
airborne, or "reduce" a kiln without it getting smaller.
Michael McDowell
Whatcom County, WA USA
mmpots@memes.com
http://www2.memes.com/mmpots
Martin Howard on sat 25 nov 00
The English language is a very variable commodity.
My dictionary gives ceramic as clay or a modern substitute : (in pl.) the art of pottery or the articles
made by a potter>
In my little experience, the terms are used totally interchangeably, but
ceramic seems to be reserved, a little, for the higher firing material, and
especially for highly fired tiles.
In other words, ceramicists pollute more than potters do.
Martin Howard
Webb's Cottage Pottery
Woolpits Road, Great Saling
BRAINTREE, Essex CM7 5DZ
England
martin@webbscottage.co.uk
Steve Mills on sat 25 nov 00
I don't think it is a British-ism, generally the term "ceramics" in my
experience is used to cover anything that involves clay, other terms are
used as specifics.
Steve
Bath
UK
In message , Snail Scott writes
>I have met people, mainly British or Australian, who use the
>term 'ceramics' to mean slip-cast hobby stuff, and 'pottery'
>to mean handbuilt or thrown clay. The common usage I am
>familiar with is that 'pottery' is functional ware or a close
>cousin (you know, 'pots'), and ceramics is any use of fired clay -
>functional, sculptural, slip-cast, industrial, whatever. An
>English woman I met once insisted, however, that my large stoneware
>sculpture was 'pottery' and NOT 'ceramics', and became quite
>worked up about the issue!
>
>Is this in fact a 'British-ism', is it universally used there,
>or is it less geographically specific in its use? (I have heard
>a few Americans use these definitions, but not many.)
>
>I'm probably opening a can of linguistic worms that I'm gonna regret!
>
> -Snail
>
>
>
>
>At 10:16 AM 11/24/00 +0000, you wrote:
>>Hello Joy,
>>
>>A fortnight is fourteen days (two weeks), no special starting point!
>>A UK pound is worth $1.40 at the last count (it varies from day-to-day)
>>A stone is 14 pounds
>>There aren't any American term that puzzle me, amuse me, yes, just some
>>of them mean very different things over here & t'other way about!
>>"the Americans and the English are two countries separated by a common
>>language", I don't know who's said that, but its very true!
>>
>>Steve
>>Bath
>>UK
>>
>>
>>
>
>>>How much in American money is a pound.?
>>>How much in American does a stone weigh?
>>>Any American terms puzzle you?
>>>
>>>Hey why do you think we named it Floradah?
>>>
--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
Connie Pike on sun 26 nov 00
From Bob Pike in Alberta Canada (in the western end of Canada)
This posting about ceramic terminology interests me as it brings up
the problem of explaining to people, what Connie and I have been doing
for the past 27 years. About 1978 we were both producing natural gas
fired functional stone ware "pottery" thrown on the wheel and at this
time a wave of hobby people started "painting glazes on slip cast
frogs, figurines, canisters with raised relief mushrooms and elves,
horses, ash trays---- you get the idea. An enterprising person would
start one of these 'ceramic businesses' in their basement where they
would either buy 'green ware' from a factory or 'pour green ware' from
molds purchased in the United States and sell it to their students who
had signed up for classes. These people taking the 'ceramics' classes
were by and large the same people who had been doing macram=E9 or
decoupage or whatever hobby was big at the time. You would see buildings
with signs such as 'Betty's Ceramics', 'Nancy's Green ware', or Ceramics
classes, all over the place.
When I had gone to the Alberta College of Art, I was doing ceramic
sculpture and was in the
'ceramic program'. When I started doing functional pottery I would tell
people I was working in the field of ceramics making functional pottery,
and I thought this would be explanation enough, -----until people
started saying "Oh yes, I do ceramics too." and their perception of
what I was talking about was totally incorrect. I was using all of the
correct terminology but the meanings of the words had been changed. If
one were to start talking about glaze---You would get people asking how
many coats I was painting on and what commercial glazes was I using.
Things got so bad that the companies manufacturing the glazes even
started making ' cold glazes' ( acrylic paint) that you didn't even have
to fire.
The term 'pottery' is even misunderstood by many people. There was
an add on TV a while back showing a grandmother and 5 year old
granddaughter checking out a new condominium the grandmother had just
moved into and the Grandmother is saying " and after we've had supper,
we'll go to the craft room and make some pottery". ( yeah right) That
add sure helped.
So--- last week after a Christmas show we were selling at, we were
approached by a gentleman who would like to represent us and take some
of our 'work' on the road to sell. Seems like a great idea and while I
was talking to him about the 'work' ( Connie produces a line of
functional porcelain 'pottery'. I do extruded and jiggered pieces that
work with the thrown pieces) The word pottery came up and he looked
shocked and said " your work isn't pottery". I asked him what it was
and he said "it wasn't like that pottery stuff that was so crude and
unfinished like they do in pottery classes". He decided what we do is
'Art'. So if we tell people we do 'Art' they will think we do oil
paintings.
The whole problem comes down to us not being understood by 98% of
the people we are trying to bring to our studio through advertising we
generate. They have absolutely no concept of what a 'professional
craftsperson' is. Now I tell people in a round about way, sort of what
we do but I qualify that with the idea that no matter what they are
thinking our studio is like and no matter what they envision, their
ideas will be completely wrong. They will just have to come and see and
I promise them they will be amazed. And after a tour they just stand
there shaking their head and mumbling about how they just had no idea.
The changing language makes it very difficult for all of us, and
our solution has been to 'show' people our work and let them decide.
I've almost given up on trying to 'tell' people what we do.
Sorry to ramble on so much. If anyone has any unique way of
explaining what they do without being misunderstood, I'd sure be
grateful. Different words seem to mean different things to different
people in different places.
Cheers Bob Pike Where a 'Chinook' just rolled in (warm wind from
the west) and the temp went up to 14 degrees C or 59 Degrees F. and most
of the snow is gone.
--
Bob and Connie Pike Pike Studios Ltd.
High River, Alberta Canada
http://www.pikestudios.com
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