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.

Today, let's meet the wonderful Amanda Trought!

Amanda is a London-Born Mixed Media Artist who has created and collaborated with a variety of artists around the world. Featured in group and solo exhibitions in London, Barbados, Montserrat, and the US Virgin Islands, she also has her art lovingly welcomed into homes all around the world. She believes in the positive impact that art and creativity can have on health and well-being, having discovered the restorative and transformational power of art through being a caretaker for her mother with Alzheimer's and running Art and Creativity workshops at a dementia care center.

Amanda uses a wide variety of materials (such as clay, fabric, recycled materials, collage, natural fibers and dyes) to create art, journals, and home decor to tell a story that impacts the viewer through her use of color and texture. Her favorite colors/palettes include blues, oranges, and reds. "Sky blue is a color that usually makes its way into my art journals. I sometimes try and give my least favorite colors a go and look within nature to see the color combinations and get inspiration from there as well." If you are equally inspired by nature and would like to unwind and make art that inspires and rejuvenates you, keep reading to find out how to Join Amanda and enroll in Fodder School today!

Amanda's journey as an artist has included a diverse history of involvement with Music, Musical Theatre, TV, Complimentary Therapies, and even working as an Executive Personal Assistant. Over time, she realized that in addition to being creative, she can also be very organized, which has largely shaped her artistic philosophy: "It's alright to have unity in the left and the right brain." After discovering mixed media art in 2007, she realized this practice was an ingenious way to incorporate all of her passions and that satisfies every multifaceted need for expressing creativity.

In the Fodder Challenge, you will collect and preserve dried leafs to decorate with a wide variety of Amanda's favorite techniques, such as sewing, painting, and stenciling. "What would die and return to the soil, is given new life through these leaf sculptures," she states. Amanda will also show you how to display your finished embellished leafs by themselves in frames or sewn onto fabric for a mounted mixed media aesthetic. Keep reading for more information about this year's Fodder Challenge and to find out how you can sign up today!

Amanda's art comes from a place that encourages everyone to find their own special place in their creative walk. She says: "Art and creativity is the tool that we use to express and encourage ourselves. Each of us has our own voice to share that can impact the world and, in turn, encourage others. I hope people are inspired when they see my work to step out of their comfort zone, that they want to start their own creative exploration, that they feel inundated with ideas they can try and see me as a creative encourager as they embark on their journey." You can learn more about Amanda's work on her website realityarts.co.uk and keep up with her on Instagram @realityarts.

In Fodder School, you will continue to learn Amanda's favorite color and textures techniques, this time focusing on creating fabric fodder. She will teach you tips and tricks for writing, doodling, stamping, stenciling to make patterned sheets of fodder which you can further cut, layer, and stitch together to create even more dynamic fabric fodder. With your new collection of materials, Amanda will show you how she combines these panels with backing fabric, decorative stitching, and beaded embellishments on a dowel to make a wall hanging perfect for gifting or displaying in your own home. Amanda would love to introduce you to her rich world of multidisciplinary art-making and therapeutic creativity, so keep reading to learn how you can sign up for Fodder School 4 and join her today!

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!

Want to listen to Amanda and me discuss Amanda’s journey with mixed media art? Tune into my podcast, "Show Up or Shut Up."

Currently available for listening on the Willa Wanders website here, or on Apple Podcasts, Amazon and Spotify:

Get all of the information about joining us in Fodder School by clicking this button below:

XOXO,
​​​

Where are you on your Mixed Media Art journey? Leave a comment and let us know!