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Ice Blue "My Ice Blue collection is a mix of everything," says Joyce. "I have some very rare pieces, as well as every day pieces. This is true of my entire collection. It doesn't matter what color something is. I enjoy a variety of colors. I just want great examples of color." Seale is known for having some of the best examples of several pieces and patterns because of her discriminating desire for brilliant color.
"I really like Ice Blue with several colors in its iridescence," says Joyce, "but yellows iridescence on Ice Blue really excites me. I also want a 'true' Ice Blue, not something that has faded. I have seen examples in the past that you can't even tell is Ice Blue unless you pick it up an turn it all different directions to find that color. I don't like it like that. I want a saturated blue that you can see from across the room."
Joyce has several great examples of Rose Show and Poppy Show in her collection. "I bought many of these at auction," she says. "I almost always know if I want to buy a piece. It just jumps out at me, I don't even have to pick it up!" Another of Joyce's secrets in getting top color in her collection is successfully upgrading pieces. "I really learned that with my first collection," explains Joyce. "When I first started, I would buy a piece and then see something I liked better. I was always upgrading. The problem is that I would get the new pieces home and discover that they were no better than the original I had. It has really been the last ten years that I have learned how to accurately remember the colors of a current piece to be able to choose wisely when upgrading."
The Good Luck plate in Ice Blue was once owned by Marian Hartung. Marian eventually gave the plate to her daughter, who, coincidentally was also named Joyce. Joyce eventually put the plate up for auction back in 1997 or 1998. John Woody auctioned the piece and Joyce Seale was able to purchase that plate at the auction. "Of course, Tom Mordini was there running the bid up," chuckles Joyce while remembering the auction.
One of the benefits of having put together a collection and selling it prior to this second collection is having learned from all the mistakes from the first collection. That doesn't always hold true to all pieces, though. "My litmus test on a piece has always been that it has to speak to me. Sometimes, that means I will also lose my mind in trying to get that piece," she says with a laugh and knowing smile. "When a piece tells me to take it home with me and the bidders are all thinking the same thing, I would be swept away and try to hang in there. Every once in a while, though, I will stop myself and think 'Joyce, you are crazy!' Alas, sometimes I have said the same thing after I won the piece!"
The litmus test can also have a down side. "I have made so many trips because I would see a picture of a piece that really spoke to me, but then when I would show up, the piece was flat and not what I wanted," she explains. "That happens much more than I like, but it is part of the game. We give our hearts to the glass, but sometimes it doesn't hold up its end of the bargain. You just have to be able to move passed those pieces and be on the look out for the next piece that will capture your heart." The pieces will sell Saturday, April 24, 2010 at the Embassy Suites Kansas City International Airport by the Seeck Auction Company. To learn more about the Heart of America Carnival Glass Association's convention, of which this auction is a part, please visit HOACGA's website at www.hoacga.org. |
