Bill Shalosky: Sandblasted Brow Burner with Tulipwood (589) Tobacco Pipe

Since fashioning a few clay pipes in college, Bill Shalosky has become one of America's most talented carvers. Citing a wide array of influences, Shalosky is proficient in crafting traditional shapes, as well as stylized artisan forms, bringing expert workmanship and a playful sensibility to each pipe he produces. This piece is a fine example of the artisan's sometimes whimsical but always deftly executed style in a variant of the Stack Nosewarmer he affectionately calls the Brow Burner. Boasting a Billiard-like bowl that towers above the rest of the piece, this piece houses a cavernous chamber behind walls that taper upward toward the rim from a plump and rounded heel. The abbreviated round shank is rather thick, accented with a ring of blonde-hued tulipwood at its conjunction to a hand-carved vulcanite saddle stem. Despite its bowl-heavy construction, this piece is expertly engineered to be effortlessly clenched. Dressed in a deep ruby sandblast, the stummel boasts finely textured growth rings with a wealth of tactile appeal in addition to this pipe's eye-catching silhouette.