Words have meanings. For almost anything you might want to think about, a word — or in English, likely more than one — already exists to apply to that concept or object. A term of art for a stemless and handleless glass used for drinking is a “tumbler.” At the pottery studio, “tumbler” would be used for a clay thing to drink from, since it’s not a glass “glass.” But why is this a tumbler, when that’s exactly what you want it not to do?
Thanking all that is holy, I have on my shelf a hand-thick (look up “hand” as a measurement) unabridged dictionary, which tells me that originally this drink holder had a “rounded or pointed bottom and could not be set down until emptied.” I get it now. The word still applies, but with a shifted meaning.
Here at the greenware stage is one of a set of tumblers, close matches, as measured by my fingers and other handy tools. Should this be a watershed logo?
All of her sisters will go in the kiln with her. I hope to show the later stages in due time.
Watershed Clayworks 