Ryan Alden: Sandblasted Morta Bent Apple (King of Clubs) Tobacco Pipe

Ryan Alden is a Texas-based artisan whose journey into the realm of pipes has found him favoring classic shapes steeped in the tradition of Anglo-French design, with these profiles making up the vast majority of his profile as a carver. This bent Apple is a bit more stylized comparatively, though it's not a shape he's unfamiliar with, showcasing his talent for carving supple curves and plumply rounded forms. I'm struck by the contrast visible here, as Alden has elected to use morta for the stummel, its sandblasted surfaces revealing ringed striations of grain beneath its black hues, while the stem and shank end accents' stormy blue and yellow coloration stands out vibrantly. The stem here is demurely curved out of a saddle bit, with the base featuring a domed look that adds further curvature to the outline of this piece. Additionally, the base of the stem is smaller in diameter than the shank end it meets, creating some negative space and visual separation between the two that draws the eye from the bowl a bit. The shank itself is rather short, taking on a sharp upturn out of a rather wide, cheeked transition, its thickness lending a sense of muscularity to this piece while enhancing its charming chubbiness. Up front, the bowl sits atop a sweeping heel, its walls coming to a rather low-set waistline before taking on an arcing taper to the rim, the fullness of its build offering a wonderful feel in hand as the contours conform to the fingers.