Ikebana Smooth Freehand Sconce with Boxwood (F) Tobacco Pipe

I have seen Tsuge Ikebana shapes that were heavily influenced by Fukuda-san's work under Sixten. I have seen shapes that were Nihon/Danish hybrids, and yes, I have seen many an out-and-out "pure" Japanese shape. This might well be the first Ikebana that I have seen that I can only associate with the US. One could make an argument that the shank has some Danish in the form of the uke/eskimo, but the execution and placement of the bowl, heck.. the very "spirit" of the pipe can be found in the sconces of American masters Rolando Negoita and Jeff Gracik. Briar and boxwood form the paddle or anchor to the sconce-like bowl, and the two elements show a superb interplay. Not only of shape, but interplay of the vertical grain of the bowl against the birdseye of the strut. This will be a very hard one for the Ikebana enthusiast to pass up.

--Bear Graves