Toni Glotter shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Toni, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
In a previous Bold Journey article interviewing me I mentioned:
“I hope to incorporate into a show to bring awareness to a topic I’m learning about right now. A friend of mine lost a daughter recently and is now an advocate for transforming healthcare from an industrial activity into a more human one”.
Well, I finally am going to follow that through. I applied for a grant and have some support from advocacy groups and other artists to take part in this show. It will take a lot of work and time, but I am proud of myself for following through on a wish and desire of mine. I never had written a grant before or applied for one. At the time of this writing, it isn’t a for sure, but they have scheduled an in person meeting to talk about it. I think my chances are pretty good. No matter what happens I will eventually follow through on this endeavor, as it’s just too important. I have always believed I can figure it out when I cross that bridge.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a multi media artist, as I don’t want to limit myself too much. The technique I developed and have produced many pieces using it, is where I fold paper from magazines accordian style and glue them onto a substrate so what you see are the folded edges.
It’s a bit like putting together a puzzle where thousands of pieces of paper make up the image. Generally I do portraits or animals. I do not know of anyone else doing the same technique, and I’ve been doing it now for 15 years. I do find the process meditating.
I definitely have put in my 10,000 hours doing this technique and now find it easy. Time to try something else.
I currently am playing with acrylic painting and just trying to let loose. The last few years I have been stuck and needed a boost which I found from a free online course. This course focuses on playing like you were a child and not letting anything judge my work, especially myself. I’m not focusing on making a pretty picture, which is what we all want to do, but when you are first learning something new you must experiment for a long time to develop your own strengths.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
When a child is born and they are seeing and experiencing everything for the first time, it makes you see things differently. When I had my first born child, and he was mesmerized by the leaves fluttering on the trees in the wind, his eyes were like saucers. I then started looking more closely at everything trying to see it for the first time through different eyes. Colors became richer, details became clearer and all the senses worked in harmony. It was magical.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
I really have had a fairy tale life, but when I discovered my husband was having an affair, my whole life was turned upside down. I didn’t see it coming and it took me by surprise. At the same time my mother was dying and I was caring for both parents. I didn’t know how I’d come out the other side, but with a tremendous amount of support from family and friends, somehow I made it through. I really wanted to give up. I had never felt that way ever in my life.
Getting a dog was really helpful. It got me out of bed every morning. It helps to have someone or thing dependent on you when going through a challenging time. It keeps you from getting too much into your head. Up until that point I spent my life putting everyone else before myself. Since then, I’ve been able to put myself first. My needs are being met and I am my authentic self again. It’s very easy to lose yourself in everyone else’s life.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
Short answer, yes, the public version of me is the real me. It wasn’t always that way though. I have always valued truth and honesty. I also wanted perfection in all I did. I wanted my life to be compartmentalized. I wanted order and predictability. Now I find those things restraining. Especially in art. My art was reflecting my lifestyle. I have let go of so much of that quickly as I found it led to being stuck in my art and life. I lost my true self and was controlled by trying to be perfect. I was probably very boring to people around me. Luckily I realized it pretty early and made changes. I find myself so free to be me, and that really comes down to circling back to who I was as a child. I’m most content when I am the closest to how I was as a very young child. For example, all I wanted to do was color, draw and paint all day. My mom made me go outside in the afternoons, so I brought my crayons outside with me. I left them outside overnight and the next day they had all melted into one block. What magic that was! I had one crayon that had every color in it! Had I been older, maybe I could have marketed the multi colored crayon. That was years before someone actually did it.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. Are you tap dancing to work? Have you been that level of excited at any point in your career? If so, please tell us about those days.
When I do something for the first time I get that excitement that feels like I’m seeing the world through rose colored glasses. This year I did my first Art Fair in Los Angeles. I wanted to branch out and reach people outside of my own community. It was thrilling. I felt so energized. I also tried my hand at set design for the first time. I’ve always said in my next life I want to do set design. I’ve been around so long that I feel I’m practically in my next life, so why not?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.toniglotter.com
- Instagram: @toniglotter
