[Strawbale] Aliz plaster (was Alis plaster)

[Athena & Bill Steen]

On Mar 31, 2007, at 6:06 AM, Derek Roff wrote:

>> I did a search at this site for 'alis,' and nothing came up.
>
> If you search on "Aliz" (the traditional Spanish spelling), you  
> still won't
> find much about natural plasters.
>
Sorry bout that Derelict, but no such word exists in Spanish, only  
the natural building world where it got misspelled from the beginning  
of recent natural building history or perhaps in northern New  
Mexico.  Of course I can allow that the New Mexicans messed it up  
along the historical path, I haven't looked closely there.  Perhaps  
if you go back to Spain one might find such a variation, but not in  
North/South America.  Anyhow to begin with the word is not a noun.   
There are two common forms, one is the verb "alisar" which means to  
smooth things out, the other is an adjective "liso(a)" which refers  
to something smooth.  So originally in New Mexico as is the case in  
Mexico these days the verb form might be used to say that you were  
now going to smooth out your plaster work via any method for that  
matter.  So other than local NM folklore where it might have gotten  
transferred into a noun you won't find it elsewhere.  After a wall is  
done you might say it is "muy liso," very smooth.  Another thing to  
point out is that it does not refer to specific mixtures that use  
only wheat paste.  It simply means to smooth things out using  
whatever you've got, stones, sheepskins, just plain dirt if there was  
enough clay in it, some sort of glue if it didn't, etc. etc.

B...
Athena & Bill Steen
The Canelo Project
HC1 Box 324
Canelo/Elgin, AZ 85611
absteen at dakotacom.net
www.caneloproject.com