Hello! I’m Wendy Solganik, aka @willa.wanders on Instagram. If this is your first time here on my blog, welcome! I’m pretty excited that you found me and my little corner of the art world.

I’ve done a bazillion kinds of art in my life, and the thing that intrigues me the most today is Mixed Media Collage Art.

I’m such a passionate student of this form of art and I’m obsessed with making and using collage fodder (what the heck is collage fodder?).

I really want to learn everything I can about it. I created an entire online art school called Fodder School where anyone with an interest in Mixed Media Art collage art, handmade books and journaling can come and learn this craft from a variety of incredible instructors, even if you have never made any mixed media art before! At this point, Fodder School is about to enter its fourth year with no intention of slowing down.

If you are looking for a great place to start your mixed media art journey from scratch, can I recommend this $19 course?

In this blog series, I’m going to be introducing you to the instructors that will be joining us in Fodder School as Fodder School 4 instructors. If you want to know all about what Fodder School is, go here.

Some of you may remember Jane Chipp from her time in Fodder School 2 (we're so happy to have you back on the team!). For those of you unfamiliar with her work, Jane makes her art using found objects, old papers and photographs. "I’m fascinated by the lives of ‘ordinary’ people…how they lived day to day, the minutiae of everyday life. Found materials intrigue me but also bring a sense of sadness and poignancy that they were discarded."

Jane works mainly with stitch, collage, assemblage, and encaustic wax. She like to create stories; to present forgotten materials in a way that makes them beautiful and profound. She aim to engender a connection to the past and a recognition of the basic similarities between us and our predecessors, that the human experience is based on the same emotions, fears and pleasures regardless of the century.

Jane is at her happiest when she is ambling around flea markets, auctions, and junk shops—she has collected items for years on her travels. "My pieces rarely start with a plan; I’m usually drawn to the vintage materials and decide what is needed to tell their story." That mindset is the basis on her Fodder Challenge and School projects, and something you'll come to appreciate just as much as she does!

For Jane's Fodder Challenge 2025 project, you'll be making these stunning 'antiquified' lace-printed medallions. The process is simple but the results are beautiful; just look for yourself! I can't wait to make a BUNCH of these and then add them to everything I own: journals, tags, clusters... you name it, you can add to it!

Think of Jane's Fodder School 5 lessons as a continuation of her Challenge project (you should definitely include some of your medallions!): using lace as a revolving point, you'll learn Jane's favorite techniques to work with vintage photos and you'll compile this beautiful photo tin.

With techniques including, but not limited to, artificial aging, photo transfer, embroidery, impromptu stenciling, and plastering, you'll be sure to learn something new or brush up on your skills. Taking these altered photos, you'll go on to make clusters, which you'll house in your very own decorated and upholstered container!

If you think that you aren't capable of creating incredible mixed media art like what you see here, you haven't been to Fodder School yet! We make it accessible. We make it effortless. We make it incredibly FUN!

check out fodder school 5