Photo by Kristi Hager, Lightroom Studio, Missoula

From Toni Seccomb, a.k.a. Toni The Artist:

I use "Toni the Artist" as a business name and got the idea from a character,
now deceased, in Butte who called himself "Tony the Trader." (The joke there was that he never traded anything and if he didn't like your looks he'd throw you out of his store.) It used to be customary for professional people to identify themselves with their trade. On the old claw foot bathtub we have in our house, there is a brass casting surrounding the overflow that reads, "Krueger the Plumber, Butte, Montana." So kind of in memory of Tony the Trader, and also in keeping with past traditions, I call myself "Toni the Artist."

About the Butte license plate: Butte Citizens for Preservation and Revitalization was trying to save buildings by doing neighborhood watch and letting the city know if we saw a building that was being broken into, vandalized, or in some sort of structural
need—usually a failing roof. But there was no money for moth balling, etc. Then Chief Executive Officer, Judy Jacobson, thought of creating a Butte license
plate and putting the money generated by sales into a "Community Enrichment" fund as a way to purchase the materials needed to either save or demolish. If a building really has to be torn down , BCPR salvages whatever is of value and sells it to fund grants which are given to homeowners for facade fix-up.

I entered the license plate design competition for two reasons, One was because it was for a good cause, and the other was that I had long wished to create something that would be ubiquitous. I always thought it would be a postage stamp or a Kleenex box but it turned out to be a license plate.

My dad, who was such a big influence on, and a supporter of, my art, recently died. He was a great dad and also a great guy. We shared the name "Tony” and "Toni." I really miss him, but he was 92 and ready to go.

Bio:

Born Antoinette Marie Marcis on Nov. 5, 1944 in Wausau, Wisconsin, I grew up on a farm and attended a one-room county school through eighth grade.

I had two Welsh ponies, Gypsy and her colt Stormy. When I was around 11 or 12, my girlfriend Sharon and I would show off for the Brokaw paper mill 3 o'clock shift change (a string of cars with guys either going to work or going home) by galloping standing up on the backs of Gypsy and Stormy in the field that ran next to the road. It was a quarter of a mile long. We didn't own a saddle so we stood on the horses bare
backs in our tennis shoes. My "Trixie" sculpture is maybe a little bit about me too.

After receiving a B.S. in Art from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, I married Hiram Shaw in 1966, had two children, Dylan, a boy born in 1968, and Morgan, a girl born in 1969. Hiram and I later divorced.

Paul Seccomb and I were married in 1993. We live in Uptown Butte with Sophie, a West Highland Terrier, Paris, a seven-year-old parakeet, and a gold fish named Sharky.

The following is a listing of jobs I’ve had since I was 8 years old:

Nightcrawler sales – I picked them at night with a flashlight and bucket then sold them to fishermen. We had a U-shaped driveway you could drive in and out of without having to back up so people pulling boats found it easy. I sold them for 10 cents a dozen and always threw in a few extra.

Car hop at a local root beer stand.

Mother’s Helper in Kenilworth, IL. (summer between junior/senior year in high school)

Horse wrangler and trail guide at Bambiland in St. Croix, WI. (After I left Disney sued over the name “Bambi” so they changed it to “The Fawn D’Rosa”) I believe it still exists.

Horse wrangler and trail guide at Miller’s Resort in Rhinelander, WI.

Waitress at a Chinese Restaurant in Milwaukee, WI named “The Ivanhoe”

Long-term substitute art teacher in Milwaukee, WI, public schools.

Cab driver for “Radio Flash” in Milwaukee, WI

Delivery person for Gelane, a wholesale florist company. in Milwaukee, WI

Junior Designer at Enger Kress leather company in West Bend, WI

Mannequin artist – painted the faces and matched make-up colors to go with the spring or fall fashions, Emerald Display Coompany in Columbus, Ohio.

In Butte:

Montana Livestock auction – rode horse penning cattle during the sales, worked other days moving cattle, sorting, and checking in or out to truckers.

Auto Body repair – Perfection Auto

Decorating Etc. – sold wallpaper, gifts and did picture framing. Became a Certified Picture Framer.

Business Owner - Went into business with a partner, Susan Barnett, and opened Frame Galerie. Retired in 1997 to work on my art full time.

I am a member of the Main Stope Gallery, a joint venture gallery in uptown Butte: Main Stope Gallery.

_______________________________________________

Special radio documentaries, seasonal offerings, and unique radio presentations including programs from Hearing Voices, American Radio Works, America Abroad and independent producers. The Friday Special is selected each week by Program Director Michael Marsolek