Micah Redmond: Sandblasted Volcano with Horn Tobacco Pipe

Micah Redmond has always held a deep appreciation for and fascination with art, something which led him to briar pipes, as he recognized the artistic possibilities inherent in the shaping process. His interest sparked a passion and led him to receive instruction from Premal Chheda who helped him along his way and led him to taking the hobby more seriously, turning it into a career when, in 2015, he joined the BriarWorks team in Nashville, while still continuing to hand-carve artisan pipes under his own name.

Redmond's shaping style is primarily within the realm of the American revival in terms of design, though he makes each piece his own through subtle details, something that this Volcano, a shape we've only seen once before from him, is full of. The most prominent of these details is the incorporation of asymmetry throughout the composition, something immediately apparent in the construction of the shank, as, at the shank end's horn fitment, we can see a touch of curve as the top leans left. Not only this, but the left flank dips lower than the right, something which the wrapping ridgeline that frames the base highlights quite well, serving to extend the slant of the stummel as a whole to favor the left, effectively shortening the right side and adding a dynamic, naturalistic element to the pipe's look as a whole. There's also a bit more curve lent to the right side, and this is most evident in the bowl, furthering that dynamism and imbuing the shape with an active, organic character. Dressing the briar here is a vibrant ruby-auburn stain that highlights a crisp sandblast, revealing rippling growth rings around all of the flanks, the underside awash with blasted, textural birdseye.