Les,
I know this word very well. It is part of my (now ex) military world.
To me an Artisan is an expert tradesperson (any trade), one who has served his time from apprentice and journyman. He is now a master of his craft and therefore able to takeon his own apprentices and teach them the trade. In the REME that was a long in the tooth Staff Sergent who wanted to do his job and not gain further promotion. The mainstay of any REME workshop, if you had a problem, he was the man you asked, he'd seen it all, done it all and knew the answers.
Above this is the Artificer, a Tradesman Manager, so in our terms, someone who has gone from Journeyman or Artisan to a Managerial role. Again in teh REME it is someone who from the rank of Sergent, undertook specialised training to progress beyond SSgt to (hopefully) Artificer Sgt Major.
Both words are from the Latin language.
Bryan, Artisan or Technician??? just thought you would like to see this,,,,, sorry mate, don't hit me,,,,,
Andy
