Marquee Marble Auctions! - TC Robertson Interview

Q. TC, thanks for taking the time to let us know more about you and what it is you do. Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got interested in working with glass.
A. I grew up in Central & S.E. Ohio and migrated west to the Seattle area in 1986. After visiting the Corning Glass Center several times in the late 70's I decided glassblowing would be a better career choice than printing, which is what I learned in high school.

Q. How did you come up with the name Due Vetro Studio and does it have any particular significance to your history in glass? How long have you been in business?

A. That name is bad Italian for "2" and "glass", my wife and I collaborating on glass. I have worked with a few Italian glassblowers and like a lot of their techniques. I started blowing glass in 1980.

Q. You work with your wife Lin in the studio, do you each have your own style resulting in distinct glass creations, or do you generally work in a collaborative effort?

A.Lin does not work in the glass shop with us. She helps design our garden art and creates cameo works using sandblasting. I make the "blank" with color layers in place. She masks and blasts the design into it.

Q. Tell us a little bit about Coupeville, Washington where you are located. For example are there other artisans in the area that help stir the creative juices? What do you do for fun?
A.Coupeville is the 2nd oldest town in Washington and the seat of Island County which includes Whidbey Island and Camano Island. It is a quaint sea-side town with no franchise stores and a main street that has been used in several movies, see Practical Magic, thats Coupeville, also the opening scene of War of the Roses. I stay pretty isolated from other artists for various reasons. We leave for Kauai on Fri. for a break. We are into sailing and birdwatching.

Q. I assume you set up shop at numerous shows in your region, are there any upcoming events that you'll be at where folks can come and see your wares?

A.Yes, Edmonds WA. Arts Festival-June 18-20 / Salem OR. Arts Festival July 16-18 / Bellvue WA. Arts Festival July 23-25/ Anacortes WA. Arts Festival Aug. 6-8 / Coupeville WA Arts Festval Aug. 14-15/ Boise ID. Art in the Park Sept. 3-5/ Issaquah WA. Salmon Days Oct. 4-5 / Due Vetro Studio End of Season & 2nd's Sale Oct. 16

Q. Do you have a Gallery at your studio displaying your work where folks can purchase your gorgeous creations? What are your hours of operation?
A. We have a small showroom which is open by giving us a call to make sure we have time to talk to you. 360-678-5887 9am-5pm PST Tues-Sat.

Q. Do you have tours where people can watch you and your wife at work? Do you need an appointment to visit?
A.Just a call or email us for a tour.

Q. I believe I've seen a couple marbles you made in the book "Contemporary Marbles and Related Art Glass" by Mark Block. Do you regularly make marbles or do you tend to lean more towards Art Glass?

A. I rarely make marbles these days. I have been doing a few Retticello marbles for fun. They are based on a "bird cage "marble I heard about a few years ago.

Q. Your work is amazing with whimsy animals, aladdin lamps, candles, garden ornaments and more. How does the creative process work from start to a beautiful finished product?
A. Get a good idea work out the process and refine it. I am working on turtles and then snails next. We just figured out an oil lamp that looks like a fish.

Q. Many new collectors of marbles mistakenly think that marbles are "blown" glass. How does the process of making a hollow object differ from a solid glass piece like a marble?

A.Glassblowing in a generic name for the process that creates any glass object, hollow or not. Some hollow forms are used in the making of marbles that are solid when finished.

Q. Where does the idea of placing your work on top of poles and utilizing them as decorative objects outdoors come from?
A. A strong market for steel garden art made us look at that area. People only have so much table space for artwork, and glass looks great outside. A lot of the shapes and animals were being made before for tabletop use.

Q. Many contemporary glass items are designed to be displayed and collected. The idea of using your work as a decorative and a functional item is somewhat unusual. How did this pairing come to be and does it actually work? Give us some examples of functional uses of your glass creations.
A. We get wonderful feed back from our customers, so I guess it works. The fish candles mentioned before, fish shaped hummingbird feeders, Aladdin lamps, fish fountains, mushrooms that are used for hose gaurds, walkway lighting.

Q. Back to marbles...Do you collect vintage or Contemporary marbles? Are there any particular artists whose work you admire?

A.I have collected a few over the years, contemporary sulphides. I like Ro Purser and 2 guys that went to the same school I did, Mark Mathews and Geoff Beteem.

Q. We have "buffed" marbles where a light buff brings a marble back to it's original lustre while leaving the pontils intact. We have "polished" marbles generally regarded as a removal of the surface glass which in the process removes surface damage and tends to remove the pontils on handmades. Is there a particular term generally used to describe what it is you do to marbles?

A.I prefer "restored".

Q. Okay, now we don't want you to give away any trade secrets but what is the magic that you perform to bring back otherwise beat up marbles back to their classic beauty? Do you put glass on, take glass off, throw them in a molten tank of liquid glass? Can machine made marbles be reheated?

A.I don't add any glass. Machine mades don't work with this process.

Q. Tell us if you can how the process works and how the tools you use come into play.

A.I won't say all the steps but, they are cleaned and reheated and shaped with a marble tool.

Q. There's ways of telling if a marble has been buffed or polished, tiny micro scratches, compounds left in remnant damage, open bubbles, pontils missing, open cores, etc..... What are the tell tale signs of a marble that has had it's surface heat treated to remove damage? Do you put pontils on the marbles you restore?

A.There are semi-circles here and there, where I didn't get the whole ding out. I can't catch them all. I need to put pontil marks on some marbles to finish them properly.

Q. Have you considered, or do you think there's a need to sign your work? Why?

A. Yes, but I didn't really make it, I just fixed it. It would be like a repairman making your GE fridge into a Whirlpool by fixing it.

Q. Do you have any ideas about the value of a marble you've restored, should the value of it go up because it's been enhanced, should the value stay as it was before you restored it, or do you not have any particular view on the matter of value?

A.The service I provide is to restore handmade marbles to as original condition as possible. I suppose it could be seen like when you restore any antique, if its done right it will enhance the value. The problem would be misrepresented marbles. I have no control over what is done with them after they leave here. If it is recognized by experts as a class of marble it would have its own pricing.

Q. TC, what can we expect in the future for Due Vetro Studios? Any particular new ideas you'd like to unveil? I'd love to see you make more marbles. Thanks for your time TC, we sure do appreciate it!

A.Lighting for outdoors is on the horizon. I will still do some marbs from time to time. I have an MRI for my shoulder tomorrow. I may not be blowing glass for a while. Later, TC Robertson

Folks, TC's work is just awesome. He's taken some pretty beat up marbles and restored them to their former beauty. I personally feel that with the rising prices of large handmades, and the difficulty in finding them in Mint condition, that TC's method of restoring marbles is the way to go. I found that the size diminished by a 1/16" or so at most, and the design was not distorted much if at all. I've noticed that the top pole had some slight distortion on some which I assume TC was referring to when he mentioned the need for a pontil on some marbles that he restores. Close inspection reveals tiny champagne bubbles in the shape of the previous damage on some, the glass as you can see is crystal clear. I know TC will be receiving more of our marbles that are in need of some tender loving care, reasonably priced, along with top notch craftsmanship makes restoring the lustre of our babies a no brainer. Visit their web site, tell 'em Mike and Helen sent ya, you'll be glad you did - these swirls are gorgeous!

TC and Lin Robertson

Due Vetro Studio

www.dvsglass.com

Photos courtesy of Due Vetro Studio and Marquee Marble Auctions