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NOTES: The
third in Teddy's series of "Humpback" compositions, this year's pipe is
the largest and the most overtly "whale-like," with its two long flukes
rising above its head.
Teddy's original conception for the pipe included a long, harpoon-like
stem and after considerable thought, he carved a tapered tube from
olivewood and put with a small curved bit on the end.
On further consideration, Teddy wasn't sure the harpoon worked as well as
he'd hoped, and so he made a second stem out of ebonite.
I find the harpoon stem a little too long and stiff for the lithe forms of
the Fluked Humpback. But the olivewood sheath is beautiful and, on
its own, the unusual bit is quite charming.
Though Teddy obvious designed this pipe with a whale in mind,
the carving also came to resemble two
other creatures:
-
a
bunny rabbit
... or perhaps more to the point, a Bugs Bunny
wabbit
(the tip at the front of the pipe marking its nose and the pipe's tail
forming its ears)
-
a
snail
(moving to the rear - the bowl being its shell),
"Wabbit Whale"
"Snail W(h)ail"
Though "Fluked Humpback" is a big pipe, it's surprising light in weight and fits
into the hand comfortably.
Teddy completed the pipe while I was still in Arhus and the other part of this
exhibit will include pictures of the final steps of that process.
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