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Sauro Pipe: Difference between revisions
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Sauro took up pipe making in 2011, after being encouraged to do so by his friend Carlo Riggio. Riggio was at this time the owner of Palermo’s historic Tabaccheria Riggio, whose wares include, among other things, high-grade artisan pipes. Through his discussions with Riggio, as well as through books and online media on the subject, Sauro received his first education in pipe making. After some time, Riggio, pleased with Sauro’s skills and progress, nonetheless advised the latter that if he intended to advance further, he would have to find a master to study under. | Sauro took up pipe making in 2011, after being encouraged to do so by his friend Carlo Riggio. Riggio was at this time the owner of Palermo’s historic Tabaccheria Riggio, whose wares include, among other things, high-grade artisan pipes. Through his discussions with Riggio, as well as through books and online media on the subject, Sauro received his first education in pipe making. After some time, Riggio, pleased with Sauro’s skills and progress, nonetheless advised the latter that if he intended to advance further, he would have to find a master to study under. | ||
To this end, in 2012, Sauro contacted Mimmo Romeo. In Sauro’s words,<blockquote> | To this end, in 2012, Sauro contacted Mimmo Romeo. In Sauro’s words,<blockquote>''“I sent him an email presentation with photos of my pipes. As is his style, he had no qualms about telling me that they ‘sucked.’ It was my wife Maria who lifted me out of my despair and insisted that I write to him again to ask what was wrong with my pipes… I can't say whether it was chance or fate, but Mimmo convinced himself to invite me to his workshop for a day.”''</blockquote> | ||
[[File:Sauropipe2013.jpg|left|thumb|An early Sauro pipe, a bent Dublin, from 2013. Image courtesy Gioacchino Sauro.]] | [[File:Sauropipe2013.jpg|left|thumb|An early Sauro pipe, a bent Dublin, from 2013. Image courtesy Gioacchino Sauro.]] | ||
Evidently, Sauro was able to dispel Romeo’s doubts about his potential and was able to continue as an apprentice in Romeo’s workshop. Here he met Brazilian pipe maker Eder Mathias, whose approach to pipe making also left a strong impression on Sauro’s burgeoning craft. | Evidently, Sauro was able to dispel Romeo’s doubts about his potential and was able to continue as an apprentice in Romeo’s workshop. Here he met Brazilian pipe maker Eder Mathias, whose approach to pipe making also left a strong impression on Sauro’s burgeoning craft. | ||
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Sauro also began to take on students of his own. One of these was pipe maker Manù, who also accompanied Sauro to meet Gabriele dal Fiume. But perhaps Sauro’s most defining achievement as a teacher would come at a most unexpected time: during the lockdowns across the world in 2020. | Sauro also began to take on students of his own. One of these was pipe maker Manù, who also accompanied Sauro to meet Gabriele dal Fiume. But perhaps Sauro’s most defining achievement as a teacher would come at a most unexpected time: during the lockdowns across the world in 2020. | ||
While pipe makers (and smokers!) in most countries were unable to gather in person to pass on techniques of their craft, Sauro, along with Mimmo Romeo, Gabriele dal Fiume, and Davide Iafisco conspired to create a means for elder pipe makers to continue their teaching exploits. In November 2020, the Academia della Pipa was born, through which Sauro, Romeo, dal Fiume, Iafisco, and Eder Mathias would hold online classes for promising younger pipe makers. Between January and June 2021, twelve classes were held via online videoconferencing, and 30 technical documents were produced and disseminated to students. Within two years, students of the Academia were selling their pipes in and outside of Italy, with the most accomplished of these students being featured on the Al Pascià website. Sauro would comment,<blockquote> | While pipe makers (and smokers!) in most countries were unable to gather in person to pass on techniques of their craft, Sauro, along with Mimmo Romeo, Gabriele dal Fiume, and Davide Iafisco conspired to create a means for elder pipe makers to continue their teaching exploits. In November 2020, the Academia della Pipa was born, through which Sauro, Romeo, dal Fiume, Iafisco, and Eder Mathias would hold online classes for promising younger pipe makers. Between January and June 2021, twelve classes were held via online videoconferencing, and 30 technical documents were produced and disseminated to students. Within two years, students of the Academia were selling their pipes in and outside of Italy, with the most accomplished of these students being featured on the Al Pascià website. Sauro would comment,<blockquote>''“Even we teachers were surprised by the results obtained – a success beyond our expectations.”'' </blockquote> | ||
[[File:Sauro 2023blowfish.png|left|thumb|A blowfish-style Sauro pipe, made in 2023. Composite made using images courtesy Gioacchino Sauro.]] | [[File:Sauro 2023blowfish.png|left|thumb|A blowfish-style Sauro pipe, made in 2023. Composite made using images courtesy Gioacchino Sauro.]] | ||
In 2022, Sauro was inducted into the ''Confrérie des Maitres-Pipiers'', a fellowship of distinguished pipe makers founded in St-Claude, France, in 1966. As part of this ceremony he was awarded the title of ''Confrere pipier''. | In 2022, Sauro was inducted into the ''Confrérie des Maitres-Pipiers'', a fellowship of distinguished pipe makers founded in St-Claude, France, in 1966. As part of this ceremony he was awarded the title of ''Confrere pipier''. | ||
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Then there are the approaches and principles that Sauro has cultivated through reflections on his own craft. A Sauro pipe begins on the page; in his notebooks, he will produce sketches of pipe shapes, other formal elements, or a pipe in its entirety. The sketchbook is vital to Sauro’s process not only as a medium for transcribing new ideas; it is also a catalyst for the imagination, in that it is, as he describes, a “graphic history of [one’s] thought.” This initial stage of the design process will continue for some time until Sauro is content with what has been produced. In a characterization reminiscent of automatism in fine art, he simply states that, “When something harmonious, light and beautiful comes out of the pencil, I stop.” | Then there are the approaches and principles that Sauro has cultivated through reflections on his own craft. A Sauro pipe begins on the page; in his notebooks, he will produce sketches of pipe shapes, other formal elements, or a pipe in its entirety. The sketchbook is vital to Sauro’s process not only as a medium for transcribing new ideas; it is also a catalyst for the imagination, in that it is, as he describes, a “graphic history of [one’s] thought.” This initial stage of the design process will continue for some time until Sauro is content with what has been produced. In a characterization reminiscent of automatism in fine art, he simply states that, “When something harmonious, light and beautiful comes out of the pencil, I stop.” | ||
[[File:SauroUkraine.png|thumb|In 2022, Sauro was one of the pipe makers who took part in the Ukraine Charity Pipes event, organized by Nanna Ivarsson and Per Billhäll. These pipes were auctioned to buyers, with proceeds going to charities helping those affected by the Russo-Ukrainian War.]] | [[File:SauroUkraine.png|thumb|In 2022, Sauro was one of the pipe makers who took part in the Ukraine Charity Pipes event, organized by Nanna Ivarsson and Per Billhäll. These pipes were auctioned to buyers, with proceeds going to charities helping those affected by the Russo-Ukrainian War.]] | ||
After this stage, Sauro moves onto selecting briar blocks that will best suit his chosen design, owing to the unique grain patterns each suggests. When the time comes to enter the workshop, Sauro finds it extremely useful to work on several pipes simultaneously, a tip that he picked up from his teacher Mimmo Romeo. The rationale behind this decision is that working on a single pipe at a time breeds compulsiveness and prevents the pipe maker from detaching themselves from the project:<blockquote> | After this stage, Sauro moves onto selecting briar blocks that will best suit his chosen design, owing to the unique grain patterns each suggests. When the time comes to enter the workshop, Sauro finds it extremely useful to work on several pipes simultaneously, a tip that he picked up from his teacher Mimmo Romeo. The rationale behind this decision is that working on a single pipe at a time breeds compulsiveness and prevents the pipe maker from detaching themselves from the project:<blockquote>''“you learn how to make effective use of the obsessive energy that is typical of a craftsman: in compulsiveness you can no longer distinguish between ‘good’ and ‘a little less than good.’ Therefore, moving from one pipe to another becomes a way to manage this energy, to adopt a certain distance and identify more clearly the possible evolution from the original design, which is rarely as definitive as was thought at the beginning.”''</blockquote>When it comes to design philosophy, Sauro could be called a minimalist of sorts. He strives to produce beautiful and practical pipes that are also comprised of the least number of lines possible; he adheres to a rule that a pipe should juxtapose no more than three colors; and he rarely opts for anything but a natural stain for the stummel, opting instead for oils that enhance its native contrast effects. Coupled with this minimalism, however, is a quality of Sauro’s approach that could be called, ‘nomadic.’ While Sauro maintains a set of basic principles in designing of his pipes, the designs themselves are difficult to generalize. This is partly because, by Sauro’s account, once he has pursued and executed a design that satisfies him, it is rare that he will return to it in the pipes he makes afterwards. Sauro’s nomadism is also evident in that, when faced with a gallery of his works, one could not definitively say that these pipes lean towards, for example, an Italian, a Danish, or a German aesthetic. There are, rather, shaping conventions and motifs traditionally found in distinct locales, or within distinct workshops or schools, dispersed across Sauro’s back catalog. | ||
=== Occasional Pipes and Projects === | === Occasional Pipes and Projects === | ||