Max Brosi (Ireland) elm carved and coloured vessel 10x9cm. SignedRay's commitment to simplicity, form, and the purity of line really struck a chord with me from the first time I saw his work. I'm honoured to have been asked to take part in this tribute to the life and work of such an influential figure in our art. It took some time and a lot of thought for me to figure out how I was going to do justice to this collaboration. My intent was to maintain Ray's clear form while adding my own identity to the piece. Not an easy task since a lot of my work is larger, turned on multiple axes, and sculptural in nature. Applying my usual techniques would have removed all traces of Ray's involvement. I chose to apply a heavily carved, scorched, and limed texture that I am currently using on some of my Cypress vessels as I thought this would work well on a smaller scale with the tighter, yet open nature of the grain of Elm (which the piece is made from), while maintaining Ray's overall form.The Ray Key Collaboration Auction