Tsuge Ikebana: Sandblasted Bent Apple (Kikuchi) (F) (009) (23) Tobacco Pipe

Asami Kikuchi's interest in woodworking piqued during college when she began making small wooden sculptures. Requiring access to an actual workshop, she sought out Tsuge Ikebana, where she became intrigued by handmade pipes, and subsequently apprenticed under master pipe maker Kazuhiro Fukuda. Now one of only three artisans at Tsuge Ikebana, the talented carver makes pipes under her own name at the venerated Japanese workshop, a rare and quite prestigious position.

This bent Apple is a handsome showcase of Kikuchi's style, blending her penchant for stout proportions with her interest in reserved, gestural line work. Stout and well-rounded, the bowl here stands atop a wide, plump heel that tapers upward to a taut rim. As the heel tapers, a low-set waistline begins to form, encircling the bowl's expansive midsection and lending a comfortable in-hand feel to the composition. Out back, an oval shank emerges from the low-set transition and makes a subtle upturn before tapering into a demurely curved saddle stem. The shank's slender build and gradual narrowing fosters a litheness along the shape's profile, while lending more visual weight to the bowl's more muscular construction. A dark sandblast dress the stummel and draws out rippling grain along the bowl, save for the rim, which is smoothly polished and stained a lighter hue for contrast.