Sandblasted Squat Tomato (BN) Tobacco Pipe

Eric, Seth and I (a union which I refer to as the 'write-rats', Eric calls 'Imagination Land' and Seth alternates between 'the hive' and 'the collective') all have our distinctive ways of setting up our desks, and mine is probably the least practical. I keep the tray which I am currently describing so far to my right/rear, that it encroaches on Ted's territory. If we were playing "Risk": advantage mine. Given the process of pipe describing, however, my first impression of a briar becomes a rim, end of bit, and whatever part of the body that rises above the protective lining. It was under these circumstances that my first impression of this Tokutomi squat tomato formed, and ".?!?..~#^?." would be a fair written approximation of my mental reaction.

Once out of the tray and into my paw, my bewilderment, which bordered on 'early hominid meets mini-monolith', immediately morphed into adrenaline-fueled wonder. While the shape is undeniably a squat tomato, all this body would require is either a teardrop or cat's eye mount to become a bona fide 'Fish', and the asymmetrical undulations of the bowl combined with the poignant organicism of the rim, left me with a fascinating sense of rediscovering Toku-san all over again. While I have never considered any of Tokutomi's work in an 'out and about' sense, at less than four and one-fifth inches in length, and nearly half as wide as it is long, this wee bit of organic cool is ready to travel when you are.