Bill Shalosky: Sandblasted Volcano (722) Tobacco Pipe

While much of Bill Shalosky's work features designs with compact, muscular proportions and flowing curves, this Volcano rendition imbues the American artisan's style with a sense of angularity. Like many of Shalosky's Volcano renditions, the composition is supported by a sweeping undercurve all throughout. However, unlike those more gestural pieces, this Volcano possesses a more lively disposition, with the bowl's broad, flattened heel showing a sharp upturn as it rises from a bend at the transition. From the heel, the bowl's walls reach high and taper toward the rim, creating a figure that fits snugly in the hand. Out back, a crisp, trapezoidal shank mirrors the heel, turning sharply upward to meet a gently bent saddle stem of jet-black vulcanite, the arrangement poised for a comfortable smoking experience. An excellent showcase of Shalosky's finishing work, the stummel wears a rugged, earthy sandblast that reveals waves of pronounced growth rings wrapping around the briar and calcified birdseye along the underside, offering a wealth of stimulating texture for the hand to admire.