In the Summertime…
Wow, that was a loooooong winter. This message is being written from Oklahoma while attending a conference (non-carnival) in the middle of May, and yet the news keeps showing snow covered fields across a good part of the United States. Someone told me once that pastels are “dead” in value, but Mother Nature seems to enjoy her whites and ice blues (or really anything with snow or ice in it). Hopefully when this issue of The Carnival Pump reaches you, you will be enjoying warmth and late spring/early summer fun, festivities, and carnival glass planning.
It’s already been an active year in carnival glass. I attended the conventions in Texas and Kansas City, visiting with friends, buying some glass, and even broadcasting some auctions for many viewers out there. The buzz I heard from everywhere I have been is about the collection of Joan Steskal. Don and Barb Chamberlain took hundreds of pictures of Joan’s collection and released it online for our members and many others, and the chatting began. Many people feel it is the best collection up for auction this year, and the reservations for ICGA’s annual convention started flooding in (a very good thing)! Hopefully you have your reservations and registrations all squared away. (If you haven’t, get on that!) We are going to have a barn burner this year, and your presence is requested.
Of course, we have many more things going on besides the “Auction of the Year.” Lane Booker will be making his ICGA speaking debut with a really cool presentation that offers a lot of perspectives and some fun on top of that. Lane is a little nervous giving a presentation (he says), but having been with him in many situations where several people are asking him about various pieces of carnival, he is going to be really darn good. I see shades of Tom Burns in him in that he knows a heck of a lot about a lot of pieces of carnival glass. And Lane has some great experiences to share with you.
Cathy Dunham will be presenting on our display room this year, which is Decorated Carnival Glass. Decoration (be it enameling, etching, painting or other) is a polarizing thing in carnival glass. I know some people who absolutely love it and build a lot of their collection with it, while others absolutely avoid it. You will find that the term “decoration” is stretched in some interesting new ways in our display room, and all of it is going to be very interesting (but only if you are in the room to enjoy it)!
As I have mentioned in this column before, our banquet speaker tried to get out of it by having a heart attack, but as I explained to him, God wanted to see what he had to say, so opting out was simply not an option. Lee Markley will amaze you with his extensive memories, pieces of glass you had no clue he owned (he is incredibly innovative in his way of finding super rare and beautiful glass), and his stand up comedy prowess. (I bet you didn’t know that about him!) His seminar is one of those unknowns in carnival glass, and I have heard nearly as much buzz about it as I have the Steskal collection. Who knows where we will go in that seminar, but you have to be there to find out.
Our Mega Silent Auction is back again this year (read more details in this issue of The Pump). It is another way ICGA is revolutionizing carnival glass conventions, and we have seen some really valuable pieces of glass sell using this cool and fun auction method. Contact me if you want to participate.
And once again, we are back to the Steskal collection. The glass is simply beautiful (Joan has impeccable taste in color and her collection shows that off in spades). Barb has included information where you can view the majority of the collection pieces, as well as including some of them in this issue. Once you see this collection, your desire to own some of this glass will only increase.
So get those plans ready, because we have a convention in St. Louis that needs only your attendance to make it even more perfect. See you there!!