Who is your inspiration

[Karol]

Guys, who do you consider to have the biggest influence on your work? I'm asking because my aesthetics clearly tend to lean towards some pipemakers more then others. This clearly translates into doodles that I'm scratching on my writing pad during meetings and whenever I have time...

Ones that I can without any hesitation mention are Larry Roush, Rolando Negoita and Okamura Yukio. There are some others ( even some from this messageboard) but I'd like to keep the list short for now.

I'm collecting pipe pictures from Internet just as an electronic scrapbook to study designs and inspire me. Last time I looked the folder I had over 700 images of various pipes and pipe related things. Unlike anything else that seems to be filling up the hard disc on my computer I'm browsing thru these very often. Wonderful source of inspiration. Interestingly, images I save often do not have pipemakers name on them so over the time I forgot the authors of some. Those that I can still remember without any doubts are the ones I mentioned above and few others that happened to turn my opinion around.

Sorry if there is already a thread running on this topic. Search doesn't seem to work for me.

Karol

[hazmat]

Search doesn't seem to work for me.

Not sure if there is one of these threads yet, but don't use the "search" in the upper left-hand corner. It's bunk. Instead, use the one in the toolbar right under the Pipem Makers Forums: Forums title.. it's between Forum FAQ and Usergroups.

[KurtHuhn]

I don't have one single major influence. I do draw inspiration from the neo-Danish shapes, as well as the German carvers out there now. Trever's Halloween series has made me think in new directions, though I can't really say that it's been a direct influence on what I produce.

More than anything, I gain my inspiration from nature. Flowing, natural, and liquid forms are "teh shiznit", and I've been moving more in that direction recently, and further away from traditional shapes like billiards and bulldogs - while keeping a lot of recognizable classical attributes.

[Karol]

Search doesn't seem to work for me.

Not sure if there is one of these threads yet, but don't use the "search" in the upper left-hand corner. It's bunk. Instead, use the one in the toolbar right under the Pipem Makers Forums: Forums title.. it's between Forum FAQ and Usergroups.

Aha! Thanks

[hazmat]

Inspiration.. hmmm.. I think I'm still a good bit in the process of BEING inspired. Pipe makers whose styles I'm drawn to go from the Italians to the Danes to the Germans.. and anything in between that draws my eye! As Kurt mentioned, nature is a beautiful place to find nature and I find myself contemplating pipe shapes while I'm wading a trout stream on a lazy Saturday or Sunday morning, while I'm camping or even when I'm driving home from work.

[Tano]

I'm new to pipe making, and therefore I'm always looking for inspiration. I look at many pipes on the net and also find great pleasure when the makers post pics on the forum, but I'm falling prey to copying.
I've made 8 pipes now sold three to a friend. but they were not my shapes. I find that I'm getting cought up in pipes by other makers, and try to copy them. This causes a lot of frustration and stress. What took them many years to develop I try to copy in a short time. Blocks are expensive and mistakes are easy. Think about it how on earth can I ever come close to making a pipe similar to the masters when the experiance isn't there. Furthermore I'm not deriving any satisfaction when its completed.
A style takes time to develop and it is that which distinguishes one artist from another.
I'm going back to the basics tought to me in school. Make pipes and don't stop. Learn the wood, learn techniques, develop the confidence, bring out the form suggested by your medium. Enjoy the exploration and all the surprises around every corner of the process. In the end it will be mine, and much more rewarding.

Tano

[mahaffy]

You know, for me to find a pipemaker I'd choose as inspiration, I'd have to be able to see his pipes first hand, I think, and spend some time talking to him. Back when I was a musician, and less involved with raising a family, less involved (not involved at all, actually) with the church, I'd probably have attended all the pipe shows within a few hundred miles, but these days? Hah! :boohoo: Like others here, I look at pipes on the web and in P&T, not so much for the style but looking for and considering the simple things: do I like this or that, and is it a valid approach or just a gimmick? It would be nice, of course, to hob-nob with other pipemakers, but this board is about as close as I'm going to get. Not to denigrate the forum; it's the neatest thing since sliced bread, and I'd be pretty darned lost without it.

[Nick]

Sixten

[ArtGuy]

I get inspiration from a lot of places, many are not pipe related at all. However, the pipemakers I have been looking at most of late are Jody Davis, Jack Howell and Steve Weiner. There is a certain "Rugged Americanism" about their pipes that I enjoy.

[alexanderfrese]

…snip There is a certain "Rugged Americanism" about their pipes that I enjoy.

John, now this would make an interesting thread. We have seen all those "What makes a shape danish?"-threads, we have seen the struggle to define classic shapes, we have fought out the terms "fully hand made by means of scratching the briar with teeth and fingernails" "plain ole hand made" "semi hand made", "hand shaped but preformed mouthpiece heavily modified" usque ad infinitum.
But I would be very interested in having some guidelines for that "rugged americanism". Don't get me wrong, I see those sort of definitions with some mild smile on my face and believe they should not be taken to seriously, but if there are some common principles that form some sort of whatever new school of shape, I would like to know more about it.

[Nick]

That's an interesting thought bud. It can't be just a rusticated pipe, because arguably the most famous rustication is Italian - Sea Rock. It seems to me that there is a raw, "rough around the edges" quality that defines the "American style." Not necessarily unfinished, but flaunting the refined quality of other pipes.

I'm interested to hear what others think about this.

[bscofield]

When I think of the phrase John used, I think of Brian Ruthenburg. Not sure what else to say about the style except that I think it can be detected fairly easily from his website while viewing his gallery.

I wonder, alexanderfrese, what "style" jumps out at you when you view a bunch of pipes like Brians? Do you see a sort of common style? If so, do you recognize it or more attribute it to that one individual? Just curious...

Incidently, www.briarart.com is his web address.

[hazmat]

Can get it even deeper by suggesting that in some American made pipes there's a "workmanlike" quality to them. Regardless of how much the pipe is, how high grade, there's a feeling that that pipe would look just as good in the mouth of a lumberjack as it would the mouth of a white-collar businessman.

Not necessarily unfinished, but flaunting the refined quality of other pipes.

There's a good bit of simplicity in American-made pipes of the sort we're discussing. Even a more complex shape seems to be crafted in a very matter-of-fact way and tactile qualities of the pipe(s) seem to be more(and maybe this is only in the mind of the buyer/collector) showcased than the subtle aesthetic nuances in some European pipes. I think Americans like to "touch" things.. we like to use things.. and these pipes, as beautiful as they are, as capable they are of standing alone as works of art, are first and foremost.... pipes. And that function isn't forgotten.

... of course, I could just be rambling..

[alexanderfrese]

I am not that much into judging if some pipemaker has a style of his own. Just because I don't have that much competence, I fear. So I will try some meandering thoughts…

The main thing coming to my mind looking at Brian pipes (besides the strong feeling that they are really well made!) is that he – and that will close the circle back to thinking about pipe americanism to my eyes – tends to make pipes on the uhm, bigger side. This is what I have seen quite often when looking at american pipes.

For my personal taste, bigger or even oversized pipes tend to lack some sort of elegance. This only seems to second the perception mentioned, that those pipes of american origin are "pure" pipes.
Just some rambling on that thought: I personally don't like too much bling bling on pipes. I even have to get familiar with bamboo shanks. It might take adorable craftmanship, but I hardly see some that really compliment the pipe. It makes them unique, but mostly it just adds something kicking them ever so slightly out of balance. Same goes for many extensions. They tend to make a pipe look outstanding on the first look. Maybe even on the second. But many of those add ons are also not quite balanced with overall flow or the spirit of a certain pipe that is already there without the extensions.

So after all, for my pov, if americanism tends to minimize all that fancy stuff, they are on a right way. If the simplicity Hazmat mentioned results in leaving out the last step of cutting something away, that is not "pipeish", they are on the wrong way. Roughness can define a style of it's own. But even that roughness will have to follow those ancient rules of proportion, which are reinvented again and again to achieve something that irritates and pleases the eye of the viewer.
Some more rambling: The kind of furniture we in Germany call the "Shaker" style (I don't know, if this term is used in it's origin country) is painfully simple, and it is derived from basic thoughts about effectivity, coming from the craftsman's view. But it is by far more elegant than most of the styles that derived from comparable traditional methods here in Germany. A table is a flat surface with 4 legs. Period. But the balance between simplicity and style is that thin line we all seek for.

But why is big often unelegant? I don't know, maybe it is just my German (and thereby not American) eyes. I have not experienced the ubiquituos width of the US american country myself. So it might well be, that I cannot "see" those big things in the right dimensions. For us Europeans, oversized things tend to be considered as being "wasting" ressources, space, or whatsoever. And we have much more space than the average Japanese! Maybe your cars fit into your cities, into your landscape, but to my experience, they are not beautiful. They may be useful, they may be well engineered. I don't want to be arrogant about automobile quality on a global basis. For me, American cars are a considerable waste of space and fuel for most of their daily purpose, and they are quite ugly to european eyes. I can't help it. Don't start a flame war now, this was not my intention. It seems to me, you guys over there stick to that "size does matter" thing, and if they make it big for you, that's almost it. Now I know that is some sort of prejudice and generalization, but is it possible, that it has some underlying truth within it? Maybe the path towards the smaller dimensions reveals some previously unseen options?

Other thought when looking at American pipemakers and their web presentations: Maybe the presentation of American pipemaker's work is different? Maybe they don't add any artificial "non-tactile" highly emotional value into the presentation of their work (i.e. on the web). It is just pipes. No abstraction, no higher spheres of conscience. Pictures of pipes in front of the toolings used or blocks of raw material. Add some tobacco tins. Maybe some old tobacco related newspaper ad underneath. Photos tack sharp. No depth of field. Almost documentary. Slightly boring, though.
Is it clever? Personally - yes. It is a value to stick to one's basics. Every man from mostly every cultural background will rather believe in someone who is "earthed" in his competence. Both feet on the ground. That really is common sense. From the marketing pov - no. Give the viewer some space to let his phantasy develop. Give him some air to breathe. Let him fall in love with the vision of a pipe, and he will buy it.
The smoker seeks for an emotional value – pleasure. Technical quality of the pipe considered as being optimized, why not give him some emotions? The collector should also not be adressed to rational. If we would, we should deal with him on a psychiatric basis. Come on! Spending lots of money for little pieces of wood that are not even used for their original purpose? Some may call that insane. Some not. But it is emotional.
Should the maker adress that perception in the two main groups of his clients? I believe yes!

Some example? Cornelius Maenz. His website does not even sell pipes! Most of the pics in his gallery don't even show the whole pipe! The pics show very fine details, and still make a mystery of the thing in whole. Impression for the viewer: "If he shows such fine details, and does not show me the pipe, he must be very sure of what he is doing. He must be a good pipemaker." And: " This small detail already makes my heart skip. Where the heck can I see that pipe in full?"

That is a completely different style of marketing. It is breathing some style, which is very hard to achieve on a website. If some viewer does not like it – he is gone. But if one possible customer likes it, he is stuck with it already. For me, that is a plus. You want those customers that match your style, since you don't want to argue with those, who are not on your wavelength.

So for my European eyes:
Make big pipes, if you like, but not just for the sake of size.
Add some emotion to the presentation of your work!

But to get it on: Post some links to some American pipes or pipemakers, that you see as making American pipes. An I don't talk about the fact where they come from. I want them to be American to the eye. And: No eagle-shaped or star spangled banner lacquered pipes, please.

[hazmat]

If the simplicity Hazmat mentioned results in leaving out the last step of cutting something away, that is not "pipeish", they are on the wrong way.

By using "simplicity" I'm not suggesting taking short cuts or not finishing something... form is still required... I'm suggesting instead that lines are done simply, there's not much "bling bling" in the carving, the lines do what they should do and nothing else beyond that. Of course, there are American pipe makers who don't shape "simply" and that's wonderful, too.. it would be a boring world without a different pipe to smoke each day!!!

[alexanderfrese]

Hazmat,

I did not want to state that you would opt for some "easy way". I am sure you would not. Allthough short cuts – if found and proven – are very much appreciated by all of us. I just wanted to focus on the very fragile, mulitlayer, endless difficult meaning of the term "simplicity".

As a thesis: If American pipes are simple ("simple" as defined above), which pipes are "complicated"? In German – and in French – language, complication is a term used in watchmaking, the whole mechanism is called "Komplikation", or even "Grande Complication" if some extra features as special displays (e.g. moon phases, etc.) are added. Can this attribute be give to some given "class" of pipes, or origin country? For my feeling, some Italian styles tend towards that "extra extra" features.

[ArtGuy]

I think what I am reacting to is the proportion system and colors used my many of the American carvers. There is a compact and powerful presence to them that make many of them (Jody Davis for example) appear to be larger than they are. Even the more "artsy" carvers such as Todd Johnsonand Jeff Gracikseem to at times have that quality to them.

I think it is most obvious in the work of Mike Butera and his entire school (Weiner, Roush, etc.) but has recently been taken to a more graceful level by Jody Davis, Brad Pohlmann, Howell and others.

The American carvers do not have the obvious similarity in their design that you see in the Danish carvers. I think that is a good thing. I like that there is a subtle "Americaness" that is difficult to express but can still be seen. I think that is the result of many of the Americans being farther apart geographically rather than learning directly under the guidance of a few master carvers and then going off on their own from there.

[Nick]

What a fascinating discussion. One thought that strikes me is that often American pipes have alot of "visual weight" or "visual mass." Not that they're oversized, but that they are visually big. Just as John mentioned above. There are naturally examples to the contrary, but on the whole I think European pipe, more so Danish and Sweedish and to a lesser extent German and English, pipes seem more airy. They are visually light and flowing. They are formed by the breese and flow with it. Japanese pipes also have this quality, although the feel to me is much more toward natual growth and molding by the elements. American pipes have the visual quality of a brick.

POW!

There it is. Its a pipe. Tobacco here. Mouth here. Where's my blow torch?

Not that American pipes are blocky and rough. Quite the contrary. They just have a visual mass that isn't seen as much in Europe.

[hazmat]

Alex... I'm not trying to pigeon-hole European with "complex" or American with "simple" as, surely, there are each on either side of the pond Todd Johnson is a great example of a "complex" American pipe maker. I think Nick actually said above what I was leaning to... and John perfectly expressed the concept I couldn't get my brain around.

[bscofield]

I think that depending on who your looking at, and you could look at quite a few to get this impression, "large" could be mistaken as the name of the game. But as John pointed out, if you take the diverse crowd that he mentioned and contrast even those that like to make large pipes (his first list, and to a degree Brian) with the second crowd, who are much more conservative in their sizes, you can come out with a style.