Richard Kennedy (UK) carved and pierced rippled ash hollow form 14x11cm. SignedI only briefly met Ray Key once, at Wizardry in Wood in 2016. It was a real pleasure to see a display of his work in the flesh, Photographs just don’t do them justice. These pieces had followed me around for many years in the books and magazines that I pored over avidly when I was first starting to turn and indeed subsequently as inspiration and as examples of top quality form and finish. Having the man there himself was an honour and being able to introduce myself and have a chat was a privilege I won’t forget.The piece of rippled ash popped out of the box. The outside cut into the beginnings of that classic vase form that I had seen in photos for years. Turning the piece in my hands I saw a couple of minor marks in the surface and resolved to keep them. Those marks made inadvertently by Ray himself. I liked the connection to him, and in that I knew I had to keep the shape as much as I could I wanted to leave the form his hands created as his, so apart from a tiny amount of truing up to allow me to hollow I left the outside profile alone. I hollowed very carefully. Very. I wanted to graduate the thickness allowing me wood to shape the tree trunk but to taper to the top the top of the form, a real challenge as Ray had created the opening and set a nominal thickness to the top. I needed to thin this without creating a larger opening. Maintaining the vase form I knew so well from photos was imperative but I had to establish a thin enough wall thickness near the top to allow me to pierce. My ultimate aim, to produce a vase that would be instantly recognisable as a Ray Key piece but with the addition of a little something extra to demonstrate that I had had a hand in its production. It was an honour to be asked to work on this project.The Ray Key Collaboration Auction