Sam Adebayo: Smooth Asymmetric Dublin Sitter with Bakelite Tobacco Pipe

At the beginning of Sam Adebayo's career as a pipemaker, the American carver was drawn primarily to classic English shapes. As his style and skill evolved, however, Sam expanded his portfolio to include more organically-inclined designs, being especially inspired by the likes of Adam Davidson, Hiroyuki Tokutomi, Abe Herbaugh, and Chris Asteriou. This Dublin Sitter, offered here, bespeaks said influence, having been imbued with a strong sense of Japanese-inspired organicism and asymmetry throughout the bowl. Those aesthetics are readily apparent in the orientation of oval rim and heel — the latter being tilted downward and to the left when viewed from the smoker's perspective, while the former shoots upward and to the right, the two asymmetrical elements paradoxically balanced out in their opposite angles. In keeping with that balance, Adebayo has ensured that the piece still sits sturdily upright, the form's asymmetry on full display when done so. It's a testament to the American artisan's eye for shaping, the angles of the rim and heel informed by the briar's natural grain, resulting in a flowing display of flame around the bowl with plateau crowning the rim and kissing the shank end. A boldly proportioned piece, it's all dressed in a vibrant, honey-blonde contrast stain and accented with a semi-translucent, mint-hued stem of bakelite, a material that we've seen utilized quite often by Sam. Beautiful work.