We were lucky to catch up with Toby Cote recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Toby, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I learned my crafts by taking workshops, joining groups with like-minded people and eventually teaching which I find are all part of the learning process. Skills can be learned and honed, but I think its the notion of knowing which skills I needed to improve and improving what you are good at! Obstacles were obtaining the proper tools and materials. I learned this by talking to different people and researching recommendations.

Taking the time to learn about different tools, and storing supplies in an organized way makes the task easier and much more fun!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

For many years I worked as an IT person, which also sparked my creative side. I took several workshops and classes to learn more about glass art and was fortunate to find a community of like-minded people who I could learn from and be inspired. After leaving the IT area, I worked on my art full time – both glass and textile art. I find it very meditative and am able to work creatively and still learn new techniques.
I am most proud of the work I create by employing new techniques, learning from ‘happy accidents’ and learning from them. I forced myself to develop my photography and drawing skills to develop compositions and work them into my glass and textile arts.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

The pandemic was a time for an extreme pivot. No shows, no sales, no markets. During the shut-down, I did a lot of on-line workshops and learned a lot. It gave me time to reflect on what I was doing in art, what I liked, what I didn’t like, what I needed to improve upon. It also made me shift my area of focus in terms of sales and what was important in terms of the process of art.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I don’t really understand NFT’s and the more I try to learn about them, the more confusing it becomes. I don’t think its part of my toolset. I enjoy creating art for commissions and exhibitions, where people can make a connection to what I have made, and I don’t think NFT’s lend themselves to this.

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