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Sauro Pipe: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Gioacchino-Sauro.jpg|thumb|Gioacchino Sauro]] | [[File:Gioacchino-Sauro.jpg|thumb|Gioacchino Sauro]] | ||
[[File:SauroPost2017logo.jpg|thumb|The nomenclature on a post-2017 Sauro pipe. For more information on Sauro pipe markings, see the Nomenclature and Grading section below. Image courtesy Gioacchino Sauro.]] | [[File:SauroPost2017logo.jpg|thumb|The nomenclature on a post-2017 Sauro pipe. For more information on Sauro pipe markings, see the Nomenclature and Grading section below. Image courtesy Gioacchino Sauro.]] | ||
Sauro pipes are made by Gioacchino Sauro (b. 1959) in his workshop in Palermo, Sicily. Prior to becoming a pipe maker, Sauro worked as an agricultural scientist at the University of Palermo; in agricultural communications; and in Sicily’s Regional Phytosanitary Service. | Sauro pipes are made by Gioacchino Sauro (b. 1959) in his workshop in Palermo, Sicily. Prior to becoming a pipe maker, Sauro worked as an agricultural scientist at the University of Palermo; in agricultural communications; and in Sicily’s Regional Phytosanitary Service.<ref>Biographical information was provided for this article by Gioacchino Sauro via email.</ref> | ||
=== Biography === | === Biography === | ||
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To this end, in 2012, Sauro contacted [[Romeo Pipe|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> | To this end, in 2012, Sauro contacted [[Romeo Pipe|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, | [[File:Sauropipe2013.jpg|left|thumb|An early Sauro pipe, a bent Dublin, made in 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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[[File:Sauropipe2019.jpg|left|thumb|An elephant's foot from Sauro, made in 2019. Image courtesy Gioacchino Sauro.]] | [[File:Sauropipe2019.jpg|left|thumb|An elephant's foot from Sauro, made in 2019. Image courtesy Gioacchino Sauro.]] | ||
Throughout this period, Sauro continued to develop his pipe making abilities. He spent a few days with [[DG Pipe|Gabriele dal Fiume]] in 2019 in order to learn the ‘hand-drilling’ techniques first popularized by Danish pipe makers in the 1950s and 60s. This guidance, along with an array of new, high-quality tools in his workshop, allowed Sauro to expand the variety of pipe shapes he could explore, especially the free-hand, asymmetrical designs that are hallmarks of the artisan pipe movement. | Throughout this period, Sauro continued to develop his pipe making abilities. He spent a few days with [[DG Pipe|Gabriele dal Fiume]] in 2019 in order to learn the ‘hand-drilling’ techniques first popularized by Danish pipe makers in the 1950s and 60s. This guidance, along with an array of new, high-quality tools in his workshop, allowed Sauro to expand the variety of pipe shapes he could explore, especially the free-hand, asymmetrical designs that are hallmarks of the artisan pipe movement. | ||
[[File:Sauro2022Riggio.png|thumb|A Sauro pipe with a mammoth molar ferrule, made in 2022. Composite made from images courtesy Tabaccheria Riggio.]] | [[File:Sauro2022Riggio.png|thumb|A tomato-style Sauro pipe with a mammoth molar ferrule, made in 2022. Composite made from images courtesy Tabaccheria Riggio.]] | ||
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 lock-downs 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 lock-downs across the world in 2020. | ||
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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 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrealist_automatism automatism] in fine art, he 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 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrealist_automatism automatism] in fine art, he 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. Image courtesy Per Billhäll at ScandPipes.]] | [[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. Image courtesy Per Billhäll at ScandPipes.]] | ||
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. | 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> | ||
[[File:Sauro lepipeit2.jpg|left|thumb|A cherrywood-ballerina hybrid of sorts from Sauro pipe. Image courtesy LePipe.it]] | |||
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 === | ||