Michael Parks: Sandblasted Bullmoose (IV.15) Tobacco Pipe

As popular as short, beefy, and generally squat shapes have been of late, it's a bit of a surprise that the Bullmoose hasn't been making more of an appearance. That being said, the Bullmoose is a very specific shape, and requires the use of a heavy, 1/4 bent, tapered stem, and the trend seems to be toward pairing beefy shapes with slender saddle stems to keep the composition moving along. Michael Parks, however, doesn't seem to be nervous about either bucking the trend or about pairing his (very broad-chambered) shape to a heavier stem, instead relying on his own eye for balance to create a heavily bowled shape that is moved along by the lengthening of the stout shank, and also by pairing the craggy, dark sandblast to a lighter, black and olive-tan swirled stem for a bit of contrast that also serves to keep the eye moving.

- Adam O'Neill