Tsuge Ikebana: Smooth Bent Dublin (Kikuchi) (I) (016) (2024) Tobacco Pipe

After graduating from one of Japan's most premier art and design universities, Asami Kikuchi focused her artistic endeavors on crafting small, wooden sculptures, and via a connection through one of her old professors, Tsuge allowed her to use the tools and machines in their Ikebana workshop after hours. Through this introduction, Kikuchi became fascinated with pipes and apprenticed under workshop supervisor Kazuhiro Fukuda to learn artisan pipe making, merging her prior studies with her desire to create practical objects that engaged visual and tactile senses. With over a decade of pipe-making experience under her belt, Kikuchi is among Japan's most prolific pipe makers, renowned for its artistry and aesthetics, as well as its precision and craftsmanship.

Throughout her portfolio, Kikuchi most often leans toward two distinctive design styles. One focuses on robust curves and muscular proportions while the other renders sleek and lithe designs of more lightweight appeal. This Dublin is of that latter variety, flowing forward with a graceful curvature into a canted bowl that continues the dynamic momentum initiated by the shank and stem. Said bowl is of the squat Dublin variety dressed in a blonde finish to highlight remarkable flame grain, and it's supported by three knuckles of bamboo, with the base of the hand-cut saddle stem continuing the knuckles' visual rhythm to merge with the rest of the composition.