Grechukhin: Sandblasted Morta Blowfish with Boxwood Tobacco Pipe

Vladimir Grechukhin has only just recently delved into using morta for his craft, and has quickly shown that he's just as masterful and skilled with the material as he is briar. As with most of Grechukhin's pieces, we have here a playful case of asymmetry. However, the difference with this pipe is that Vladimir had no grain to guide his shaping, making this an excellent example of his ability to execute balanced and attractive forms. The juxtaposition of soft "fins" and the flow of craggy grain lend this pipe a dynamic since of implied forward motion, and the same exciting presence one would expect from a sports car (an observation of his work I have made several times in the past). To complete and set the overall aesthetic off, Vladimir has elected to fix an accent of canary boxwood to the sable morta, further adding more contrast to the pipe in the forms of color and texture. This is a truly novel and successful experiment for the Russian master.