Cathy Watson: From Scrapbooking to Mixed Media in Fodder School’s Global Community
Host Wendy Solganik welcomes longtime Fodder School participant Cathy Watson, an artist in Christchurch, New Zealand, to discuss Cathy’s creative journey and how the global Fodder School community supports sustained making. Cathy describes growing up with creativity, learning to sew at age 10, loving art at school, and later becoming deeply involved in scrapbooking—working in stores, teaching classes, and navigating limited product access in New Zealand, including reliance on imported supplies and delayed magazines. She explains her transition into mixed media through influences, local classes, and conventions, and shares how Fodder School lessons—especially Angela Kennedy’s drawing and Karen Elaine’s Wild Watercolor—build her skills through step-by-step learning. Cathy talks about retirement routines, making art in focused windows, and running a monthly “crop and craft” gathering that supports creative wellbeing.
00:00 Meet Cathy Watson
01:24 Podcast Premise
02:46 Zooming From New Zealand
03:50 Fearless With Art
06:15 Sewing And Scrapbooking Roots
09:31 Life In Christchurch
14:50 Supplies And Access Limits
25:00 Mixed Media Enters Scrapbooking
29:32 Travel Albums And Memory Keeping
32:12 Trips Abroad And Family
37:45 Back To Art Skills
40:10 Wild Watercolor Breakdown
41:53 Watercolor Control Struggles
42:28 Learning Curve and Confidence
42:57 Memory and School Stories
44:23 What Creativity Feels Like
45:49 Retail Career and Retirement
50:55 Morning Routine and Cats
55:50 Fodder School Habits
56:37 Supply Hunting in NZ
58:02 The Pen That Worked
01:01:16 When Art Time Happens
01:04:38 Family Reactions to Art
01:06:56 NZ Friends and Immigration
01:10:21 Crop and Craft Community
01:15:59 Wrapping Up and Goodbye