Mary Lacer (USA) spalted beech box 7x6cm. SignedRay was always known for his boxes. When I started turning I was drawn to his boxes that looked like a hat. I turned a variety of boxes especially a number of mushroom boxes and then moved on to other items. I chose a solid blank of Ray’s to have the flexibility of working on a design. So in looking back I decided to do a version of a ‘hat box’ since I’ve turned a lot of hats in my turnings over the years. I put a Maloof finish on my box.Back in the early 80’s there weren’t classes like people can attend today at numerous schools around the country. I met Ray at conferences in the United States and attended his demonstrations. Ray emphasized practice and even looking back at your work a month later, one could see improvement in your turnings. I loved the “foot” positions in a photo in his book,Woodturning & Design. When watching Ray demonstrate, he made it all look so easy. One of the first books he recommended was Fred Pain’s book, The Practical Woodturner, which I think everyone had in their library. The Ray Key Collaboration Auction