Bill Shalosky: Sandblasted Tomato with Boxwood (442) Tobacco Pipe

Few shapes are more organically inclined than the Tomato, with its compressed vertical disposition, languid lines, and soft, natural curves. Bill Shalosky can certainly carve a Tomato. I think he can probably carve anything, because his precision and sophistication always lead him to happy shaping cues. The shank of this sandblasted pipe is wide and long, almost stocky in relation to the bowl, and is terminated with a pale band of boxwood at the shank end. That boxwood is followed by a slight expansion ring in the stem and a flat, lightly curved saddle mouthpiece, adroitly diverting the eye back where it belongs: on the stummel.

The briar is all sandblasted, including the rim, while leaving a ring of chamfered smooth briar for the inner lip of that rim. I'm a fan of Bill's sandblasting technique as well, and this piece does not disappoint. Waving grooves of consistent growth rings traverse the bowl and shank, and the lines of the pipe follow that grain, its growth rings paralleling the lines of the shank and the undercurve of the bowl. Overall, the piece's bent nature is subtle, with a wide transition and soft transition curves for very little in the way of cheeking. It's a sinuous form that seems perfectly nature-made, especially in its earthy tones, rugged texture, and soft, natural lines.