In the course of a recent interview, Adam was asked if he felt that a budding carver should sit down and attempt to execute all of the standard shapes, prior to creating either an original or esoteric shape? "While I think it is important for an emerging carver to have a standard or two around with his other pipes, if simply to demonstrate a breadth of execution, I would no more expect that of a new carver than I would insist that an oil artist's first painting be "George Washington Crossing the Delaware..." As things sometimes happen with co-workers, "George Washington" became our back and forth code word for a billiard of any sort. A few weeks ago, Adam stuck his head in my office and asked me how George Washington would look if he was really short and sported some bamboo? At the time, I was laughing so hard that I didn't even have a comeback.
Turns out that the "Father of our Country" looks quite dashing with bamboo and a compact size replaces a good bit of the imperious that I see on the dollar bill with a sense of charm. The bowl features a fine vertical grain on the front and back as well as a delightful amount of blasted birdseye and lave ripple on the sides. Adam has created a pipe that not only features the superlative attention to detail and individualism that you expect from the top-tier artisan briar, but a pipe that conveys a sense of a faithful and familiar companion, right out of the box.
--Bear Graves
