Paolo certainly does show an affinity for pairing rather stout and thick walled bowls with dangerously, achingly thin, stretched shanks. And that's probably, at least I imagine, why he's been so fond of dreaming up these absolutely gorgeous and undoubtedly very neoclassical Canadian shapes most recently. I mean this is a big pipe with a most cavernous tobacco chamber, but it doesn't
feel like a big pipe, per se (the thing is incredibly lightweight as well). I think that's why this piece is so successful as a form: because it teases expectations and distorts suppositions. Besides, it's good looking to boot. Just look at those sharp shank lines.
-- Ted Swearingen
