Sandblasted Dancing Acorn (211) Tobacco Pipe

The original inspiration for this shape is no mystery: it was the Bo Nordh Ballerina. Of course, that's not to say that Micah was inspired directly by the Bo Nordh execution of this delicately-balanced shape-theme. He may have gotten the itch to create his own version by seeing the personal re-interpretation of another artisan; just about everyone from Tokutomi, to Becker, to Joao Reis has tried their hand at creating a distinct rendition of it.

Micah's Dancing Acorn I suspect is Tokutomi inspired, for the closest Ballerina-like shape I can think of is the Tokutomi Vase, which also adopted a convex roundness of the bowl and a very vertical stance of shank and stem. Despite some similarities though, Micah's take is still distinct from the Toku Vase, being more forward of stance, firmer in overall style, and showing far more separation between bowl and shank. Despite being overall the more robust of the two, Micah's Dancing Acorn actually sports the smaller foot, a shaping cue which does much to still bring about a delicate sense of gesture.

- Eric N. Squires