Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Michael Krumme of Los Angeles sends this note along.

Hello all,

As an attendee at yesterday’s presentation by Alan Shovers to the Southern California (Eldorado/Emmerson) Chapter of the American Brilliant Cut Glass Association and the Elegant Glass Collectors, I can vouch that Alan’s presentation was well-done and informative, garnering dozens of oohs and ahhs from the audience as the PowerPoint presentation unfolded. Many of the attendees I spoke with afterwards — some longtime collectors of other kinds of glass — had never studied Steuben, and therefore had no idea of the variety of shapes, colors, decorations, and techniques that Carder produced in the 30 short “color” years (in addition to ones in the later “studio” years.) Alan truly helped to open the eyes of many yesterday.

In addition to the PowerPoint presentation, David Chadwick-Brown (a local San Diego resident) dared to pack up about three dozen pieces of fine Steuben glass from his collection, lug them to the hotel conference room, and then hold his breath as he placed them out on an open table for attendees to admire (and sometimes even handle!) I was impressed by how many colors, forms, and techniques were represented on the table — Tyrian, cire perdu, Aurene, Cintra, Oriental Poppy, Mat-su-no-ke, architectural pieces, Rose du Barry, Selenium Red, Rouge Flambe’, dark blue jade, and my personal favorite, a yellow jade vase with applied ring handles. Breathtaking!

As if that weren’t enough, Susan Shovers, an award-winning dessert maker, personally provided enough home made desserts for everyone in attendance. Susan, I don’t know whether the oohs and ahhs were greater for your cheesecake and other goodies, or for your glass. I think it’s a tie! When the Shovers volunteered to bring desserts for all, I ventured to say that my favorite cheesecake is amaretto. Lo and behold, there it was on the table, and it was the best ever.

Not to leave out anyone, Mike Manginella’s program on engraved glass taught me a lot, and gave me an even deeper appreciation for this true art. Now I will be looking more closely at engraved glass when I’m out glass hunting, and I’m sure before long several examples will find their way home with me.

Thanks also to Howard Blair and Susan Olpe who coordinated the event for our two groups. Another fine job.

In this age of great upheaval in the market for antiques and art, I think it is more important than ever for any group which wants to survive and which wants the wares on which it focuses to continue to be appreciated, to network with other groups to share the joy and the knowledge that comes with collecting. I think that this event succeeded in that. I encourage members in other parts of the country to brainstorm about what you can do to foster appreciation and preservation of fine American glass for future generations to enjoy.

Michael Krumme
Los Angeles

Any opinions expressed by participants to the Gazette are the opinions of the authors and are not endorsed by or the opinions of the Carder Steuben Club.