A special salute to the late Bob Hayes who graced North Carolina with his superb pipes and was best carver awardee at the TAPS pipe show more than once. I wish I had know of him, and gotten to know him over a longer time.
My go-to pipe carver since 2002 has been Jerry Perry of Colfax, N.C. in the foothills west of Greensboro, site of the Persimmon Festival every year. I am devoted to Jerry's pipes and an admirer of his independent and creative spirit. He doesn't sell online: "If I sold online, I'd spend all my time taking pictures instead of making pipes." His work is, in part, understated, traditional, regional, and very distinct to its creator. I'm not sure if the influence is direct or not, but there is an undercurrent of Japanese artistry in his use of asymmetry and subtle irregularity, though at the same time adhering to a kind of high-country plainness and directness. As near as I can tell, he is not emulating the mainstream of carvers, but goes his own way with a steady confidence and creativity. He can use stripes of color and little line etchings on his pipes, but they still adhere to a easeful simplicity. There is a brilliance to them that reminds me of Shaker furniture and Amish crafts. When he gets set up at his booth at the N.C. State Fair, with the high intensity lamps bringing up the grain, multi-colored woods, and shapes of his work, it is pipe craftsmanship as fireworks. He sells his pipes at the N.C. State Fair Village of Yesteryear (where he has been mayor of the village) and at the TAPS pipe show at the State Fairgrounds in April. He works in briar, Mountain Laurel, maple, Cocobolo and perhaps other woods. His work is precisely to my taste.
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