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 the Show 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 Williams Sonoma, 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 at becoming 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