This year I’ve been dipping into the treasure trove that is Fodder School One.

This is an inspiring online mixed media art course that runs over eleven months.

Fodder School is a collaborative workshop featuring a different teacher each month, focusing on both “making fodder” (the raw materials of collage) and “using fodder” (turning those materials into finished artworks). There’s also a generous helping of bonus lessons sprinkled in throughout.

👉 You can check it out here: Fodder School One

But what is fodder, exactly?
In mixed media circles, fodder refers to all the bits and pieces we use to build our artworks. This includes painted papers, vintage ephemera, fabric scraps, stamped images, doodles, photos… anything goes. Think of it as the fuel for your creative fire.

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February’s Project: Assemblages with Megan Whisner-Quinlan

This month’s lessons were led by the wonderfully talented Megan Whisner-Quinlan, and the focus was on making assemblages—which are essentially 3D collages using a mix of found objects, personal ephemera, and handmade elements.

We explored:

• Botanical fodder techniques using stamps, stencils, and dreamy watercolours
• How to create assemblages with layered depth and meaning
• Bonus projects, including miniature assemblages and whimsical art collage dolls

So, what is an assemblage? In art terms, it’s a three-dimensional composition created by combining various materials and objects. In our case, that meant pulling together personal photographs, vintage-style postage stamps, and our own hand-crafted collage fodder into layered, story-rich creations.

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How Can You Use Assemblages?

They’re incredibly versatile! You can:

• Frame them as standalone artworks
• Incorporate them into your art journal pages
• Use them as toppers for handmade cards or gift tags
• Layer them into larger mixed media compositions

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My Assemblages

Throughout this post you can see the pieces I made during the course. Many feature personal family photographs, which made the process deeply meaningful for me. There’s something quite special about breathing new life into old images through collage.

If you’d like to use some of these vintage-style family photos in your own paper crafting or mixed media art, I’ve turned them into a digital download kit, available in my Etsy shop:

👉 Download the kit here

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I’m really enjoying using a wide range of creative practices. Although I am passionate about painting and fine art I also really love craft. Playing with paper allows me to use found objects and vintage papers which I’m fascinated by. It also allows me to be messy, to let my intuition lead and to make mistakes. I’ll be sharing more about my Fodder School journey (and other creative experiments) over the next few months, so stay tuned!

Have you ever tried making assemblages? I’d love to hear about your experience—drop a comment or send me a message!

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Rachel x