i never heard the word growing up. I heard craftsman, iron-worker or wood-worker, glass blower, but never artisan. when i got older i heard the word used incorrectly, used in place of artesian.
when I realized that it was a term related to craft, or a creative process i became a little more connected.
eventually i felt it necessary to look up the definition. i'd heard it so much I was starting to actually care about what it actually meant. here is what I found.
An artisan (from Italian: artigiano) is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewelry, household items, and tools. The term can also be used as an adjective to refer to the craft of hand making food products, such as bread, beverages and cheese.
Manufacture by hand and with hand tools imparts unique and individual qualities to artisanal products, in contrast to mass produced goods where every one is nearly identical. Artisans traditionally work in media such as stone, wood, ceramics, glass, common and precious metals, basketry, textiles, esparto grass, leather, fur, wax, paper, and flowers.
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