Cathy Watson: From Scrapbooking to Mixed Media in Fodder School’s Global Community

Host Wendy Solganik welcomes longtime Fodder Schoolparticipant 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 Schoollessons—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