Smooth Bent Tomato with Bamboo Tobacco Pipe

While he does produce a number of flourishing Freehand designs, most of Jerry Zenn's work can be placed in the Danish classical or Japanese aesthetic categories. This bent Tomato is a great example of the latter, sporting a broad, shapely bowl with careful attention paid to the cheeking around the transition, producing a plump, full feel in hand. Those smooth curves are given even more visual weight by the way Jerry's handled the transition and shank, keeping it comparatively trim and following a beautiful, continuous arc up to the stem. While all that shaping is certainly impressive, what strikes me most about this delightfully organic design is the bamboo. Simply put, Jerry chose the perfect root for this sinuous form, with the medium's knuckles gradually spreading out as the extension arcs upward. It works not only to add a neat, organic flare to the composition, but does much to complement the overall flow of the piece, accentuating the lithesome nature of the shape's S-curve as the knuckles spread out near the mouthpiece. Excellent work from Jerry here.

- Andrew Wike