My first encounter with the pipe I owe to my father, who when trying to give up smoking turned to the pipe (it's a pity that he didn't stick to it). It was enchantment at first sight - its shape and beautiful briar wood bewitched me. I didn't dare think then that one day I might myself carve pipes from briar.
Many years passed before I attempted to realise the dream of making a pipe. In the meantime I qualified from art school, where my studies included sculpture and the manufacturing of artistic furniture. Having no access to briar, I carved my first five pipes in stone. It was relatively easy to give them the shape I wanted, but achieving the inner construction ( drilling the tobacco chamber and the air hole so that they meet precisely at the bottom and in the middle of the cavity) was a real challenge. The successful execution of this gave me great satisfaction, especially as I didn't have any sophisticated tools to do it, but it did not weaken my desire to sculpt a pipe from briar.
While working at the National Conservation Ateliers, I often had to execute works of fine sculpture in different materials, and very often in wood, if the object was to restore antique furniture. Later on, my main occupation became painting.
Many years passed before I handled any briar wood. It was my wife Grazyna who surprised me with this. Knowing my admiration for this wood, she managed to obtain my first two briar blocks. This is how the new adventure of carving pipes from briar began.
The pipes I make are not mass-produced; on the contrary they are all unique models, a kind of micro-sculpture. Each briar block from which a pipe is to be sculpted is a different inspiration and before I reach for the tools, I need to spend time contemplating it. When I finally start carving, I still need to be attentive and to "listen" to the material. The final shape of the pipe is always a kind of resultant of what the briar suggests to me and what I impose on it. For each work the proportion is different: sometimes it is my vision which prevails, and sometimes it is the briar, forcing me to expose its beautiful grain or to get round its small flaws, which plays the dominant role in the final appearance of the pipe. Many hours elapse between when I get the briar block in my hands and the moment I can put the finished pipe on the shelf - two weeks or sometimes even three or four. Briar wood is a real fascination.
