Dutch
Keramist (m) -en beoefenaar v.d. pottenbakkerskunst, pottenbakker; (v) -miste -n en -s; ook ceramist
Pot·ten·bak·ker (de; m,v; meervoud: pottenbakkers) maker van potten.
English
Potter /ˈpɒtə/ noun: potter; plural noun: potters; a person who makes dishes, plates, and other objects from clay, usually by hand on a special wheel.
'Potter' seems to be a collective name for anyone who makes something out of clay. But there is an essential difference between a potter and a ceramist. A potter is someone who makes pots and other ceramic goods, while ceramist is a person who makes ceramic objects.
Although both groups can be successful in what they do and both work with clay, the comparison ends here.
According to the English, but also the Dutch dictionaries, a potter ('pottenbakker' in Dutch) is someone who makes pots, but most Dutch dictionaries mention the same under 'keramist' ('ceramist' in English).
It's kind of weird. If you tell a stranger that you are a sculptor, they will probably ask you what material you use. But almost no one would immediately assume that you work with clay. And so you use the word ceramist, but then they get confused with potter.
That is why I use the term 'ceramic sculptor' nowadays. I know it sounds a bit pretentious, but people understand this better and won't ask me to make them a series of plates again.
The funny thing is that I don't only make sculptures. For example, I am currently working on a series of boxes, in between I make small ceramic paintings and I have made a whole series of ceramic book covers.
To be honest, there is no better name for this than simply 'ceramist', but it is precisely that name that defines me - at least according to the Dutch dictionaries - as someone who makes pots.
