Connie Fong: From Fodder School Superfan to Teacher—Playful Paper Dolls, Collage Calendars, and Finding Your Style

Wendy Solganik introduces season six, episode six of theShow Up or Shut Up podcast with guest Connie Fong, a longtime Fodder School member now teaching in Fodder School six. Connie, a Bay Area native and retired computer science professional who worked at IBM and in e-commerce at WilliamsSonoma, shares her lifelong crafting journey through knitting, scrapbooking, bookmaking, and mixed media, plus her love of bold black-and-white contrast, typography, and grungy pops of color influenced by artists like Robin Marie Smith. They discuss how Fodder School’s variety, pacing, and supportive community helped Connie develop her distinctive style, and her surprise atbecoming a teacher. Connie previews her Fodder Challenge whimsical paper dolls (inspired by Mindy Lacefield) and her Fodder School project: a collage-style monthly calendar using ransom letters. She also talks about learning to film online classes with help from her daughter’s former YouTube setup, selling journals on Etsy (Artful Play), daily pickleball, and her shyness about posting publicly on Instagram (@myartfulplay). 00:00 Meet Connie Fong02:01 Podcast Premise03:23 Bay Area Roots06:03 Early Crafting Life07:39 Supplies And Shopping10:25 Tech Career Path13:57 From Crafts To Mixed Media18:31 Finding Her Style25:03 Becoming A Teacher27:41 Why Fodder School Works33:00 Her Fodder Challenge Dolls35:07 Finding Your Own Style36:03 Paper Dolls Project36:30 Calendar Collage Plan37:21 Ransom Letters Method39:38 Why Make Art Calendars43:54 Storing Cutout Letters45:51 How Style Evolves50:44 Teaching Online Leap51:52 Daughter’s YouTube Journey55:15 Etsy Shop and Instagram58:49 Pickleball and Family Life01:00:17 Confidence and Closing