Ken Dederichs: Sandblasted Bent Egg Tobacco Pipe

This strongly gestural and lithely bent Egg exemplifies Ken'ichiro Dederichs-Uchida's fondness for organic designs and his ability to effortlessly combine supple curves with stout proportions. The bowl's canted orientation lends this piece a touch of forward-urging momentum and is a stylistic shaping cue the Germany-based, Japanese-born carver often incorporates in his work. It creates some added dynamism in profile, with subtle cheeking around the transition supporting the bowl's curvaceousness and making it even more pleasing in hand.

The thick shank continues the robust precedent established by the bowl, quickly curling upward to meet the gracefully downturned mouthpiece. The expansion ring along the stem base mirrors the flared shape of the shank and it's corresponding ridgeline, and also offers some negative space that directs attention toward the stummel. Along with the affable curves and balanced proportions of this composition, there's a wealth of captivating grain to admire around the stummel. Well-defined ripples of undulating grain wrap around the bowl's flanks and radiate along the sides of the shank, while the smooth, flat rim and domed shank face provide textural and color contrast thanks to their lighter stain when compared to the inky hues of the rest of the sandblasted stummel.