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 Fong 02:01 Podcast Premise 03:23 Bay Area Roots 06:03 Early Crafting Life 07:39 Supplies And Shopping 10:25 Tech Career Path 13:57 From Crafts To Mixed Media 18:31 Finding Her Style 25:03 Becoming A Teacher 27:41 Why Fodder School Works 33:00 Her Fodder Challenge Dolls 35:07 Finding Your Own Style 36:03 Paper Dolls Project 36:30 Calendar Collage Plan 37:21 Ransom Letters Method 39:38 Why Make Art Calendars 43:54 Storing Cutout Letters 45:51 How Style Evolves 50:44 Teaching Online Leap 51:52 Daughter’s YouTube Journey 55:15 Etsy Shop and Instagram 58:49 Pickleball and Family Life 01:00:17 Confidence and Closing