Smooth Volcano (Two Stars) Tobacco Pipe

One can tell the great pipe makers from the merely good pipe makers by what the greats do with a shape. In this piece, Kent has created the pipe around the line created by the bottom of the bowl and stem. That curve is the central element here, not the sides of the bowl, as is usually the case with volcano shapes.

There is so much bold energy in that line that it seems to carry the rest of the pipe with it, forward, as if pushed by the wind. Ironically for a shape named for a large, rocky geographic feature, there's something distinctly nautical about this shape. The tail created by the shank and the decorative work on the stem seems almost sail-like when viewed from the side, with that whole curve pushing forward a small vessel, perhaps atop a great wave.

I think the remarkable straight and flame grain that covers the bowl helps to emphasize that sense; it too seems to be reaching forwards and upwards, as if pushed by that bottom curve and whatever unseen force drives the entire composition.

Full of energy and beautifully executed, I think this is a particularly special piece from Kent Rasmussen. And given Kent's other work, that's really saying something!

-- Sykes Wilford