Sandblasted Tomato with Bamboo Tobacco Pipe

Jerry Zenn's unique vision for the Tomato shape has resulted in some truly exciting takes on the form, with the Taiwanese carver constantly exploring ideas for each rendition and tinkering with their finish and accenting materials in fresh, playful ways. This particular offering is one of Zenn's broadest-bowled interpretations to date, with some additional plumpness lent to its bulbous, low-set waistline. Whether its wrapped by fingers or cradled in the palm, the chubby bowl is an utter delight to hold and that feeling is amplified even more thanks to the undeniably crisp sandblast that covers the stummel. One of Zenn's smoldering contrast stains is seen over top all that rich texture, with its mix of colors really bringing out the various aspects of the briar's grain patterns. Following the almost non-existent transition, a thick, wildly flaring piece of bamboo extends the shank and dramatically curls upwards in a subtly asymmetric fashion to the high-kicking stem. And while I'm continually impressed by the various pieces of bamboo Zenn accents his pieces with, I can't recall many other pipes that feature as many nodes as this example does. At least a couple dozen of them wrap around the bamboo, with most of them being tightly grouped together along the underside and slightly spaced apart on top. The shank face has been tilted in such a way as to further emphasize the asymmetric nature of the bamboo, especially from the smoker's perspective. It's an incredibly cool piece from Jerry and exemplifies his dynamic approach to shaping and accent work.