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Melissa Foss

Ceramic, Craft, Multidisciplinary, Multidisciplinary Art, Music / Sound, Performance, Performance Art, Sculpture / Installation, Visual / Media

Musical instruments have helped us to communicate and express ourselves since the dawn of humanity,

About the Artist

Melissa Foss’ work takes different forms, from sculptural ceramic instruments, improvisational performances, and electroacoustic compositions to educational workshops and residencies for all ages. Through these different expressive channels, she explores themes of memory, kinship, and myth, as well as sound itself; its ability to inspire awe and its power to generate collective moments of shared emotions and connection. Foss’ hand-built instruments, which are both visual and sonic objects, reawaken ancient sound technologies through plant, animal, and bird-inspired forms.  She navigates and negotiates between form and function to create instruments which reverently conjure more-than-human beings and highlight tunings and timbres rarely heard in music or encountered in our world today.  Foss was initiated into instrument-making and musical composition in Argentina, at the National University of Argentina at Tres de Febrero.  There, she completed a master’s degree in Musical Creation, New Technologies, and Traditional Arts; performed as a soloist for seven years with the Orchestra of Indigenous Instruments and New Technologies; and taught in the bachelor’s program in Indigenous, Popular, and Classical Music of the Americas.   Since returning to the US in 2021, she has developed and delivered bilingual educational arts programming through performances and residencies with early childhood and K-8th grade, and through workshops with creative aging groups and adults of all ages at cultural centers, universities, libraries, and museums. She has 12 years of experience as a teaching artist. In 2022 one of Foss’ original instruments was acquired for inclusion in the interactive educational installation in the Baltimore Museum of Art’s Patricia and Mark Joseph Education Center, and she has been commissioned by the Walters Art Museum to create historic recreations of several musical instruments in their Art of the Ancient Americas collection. She recently completed a residency as the MD Traditions Artist in Residence at UMBC, as well as a three-year artist residency at the Creative Alliance in Baltimore, where she held her first solo exhibition, “Kith & Kin, A Rewilding of Sound and Form” in March-April of 2025.      

Melissa Foss website Personal Website Melissa Foss website Portfolio

Artist's Statement

As a professional teaching artist, Melissa has created and delivered innovative, bilingual (English & Spanish) educational programming with groups of all ages at the National University of Argentina, Baltimore Museum of Art, Shepherd University, Creative Alliance, and Baltimore Clayworks, and with early childhood through 8th grade in schools across the state of Maryland. Her arts integrated performances, workshops, residencies and professional development trainings focus on using clay, music, and Pre-Columbian musical instrument traditions to inspire interest in nature, culture, and history, while facilitating embodied creative experiences and group connectivity.    

Featured Work

Photos

These shell bells were created using bits of shells gathered at Calvert Cliffs in Maryland. Each of the three bells produces a different note based on the size of its bell; the smaller the bell the higher the note and vice versa.
Globular or vessel style flute in the shape of an owl with painted iconography.
Video features a short composition I played, recorded, and produced with sounds from the instrument shown in the image, which is a hand-built triple flute. This instrument is composed of three different tubular flutes with microtonal intuitive tuning, which can be played independently or together to create multiphonic melodies and beat frequencies. The instrument is inspired by ancient multiple flutes of Central and South America, and the design recalls the intricate, puzzle-like surface of Brain Coral, who I encountered at the National Aquarium shortly after relocating to Baltimore.

Videos

  • Snake Double Flute

    See more information about Snake Double Flute
    Video features a short composition I played, recorded, and produced with sounds from the instrument, which is a double flute featuring an original design with a snake motif, and “intuitive” tuning. This instrument is composed of two different flutes which can be played independently or together to create multiphonic melodies and beat frequencies.
    Medium: Earthenware, oxides
    Year: 2022
    Details: Video features a short composition I played, recorded, and produced with sounds from the instrument, which is a double flute featuring an original design with snake motif, and “intuitive” tuning. This instrument is composed of two different flutes which

  • Heron Horn

    See more information about Heron Horn
    Video features a short composition I played, recorded, and produced with sounds from the instrument, which is a hand-built horn inspired by Great Blue Heron. This sculptural instrument can be played in different ways to produce sounds ranging from percussive to bird calls to deep digeridoo-like drones.

    The shape, design, and coloring of the instrument is inspired by the morphology of Great Blue Heron, who has been an important bird throughout my life story.

    Medium: Earthenware, oxides, pigments, beeswax
    Year: 2023
    Details: 10 ½ x 4 x 8 in

  • Mente Mineral (Mineral Mind)

    See more information about Mente Mineral (Mineral Mind)
    Mente Mineral (Mineral Mind) is a more-than-human music mask that is an homage to the mountain range of Chubut, Argentina, which once formed part of the Gondwana supercontinent. The wild clays used to make this piece, which date back to the Miocene (13 million year old material) and the Paleocene periods (66 Million year old material) were responsibly harvested and used to sculpt this piece in situ over the course of 4 days during a residency organized by Nómada Cerámica.

    The instrument produces sound with internal bells and two small flutes that have two finger holes each. The flutes can be played separately or together to produce melodies and beat frequencies.
    Medium: Wild clay, beeswax
    Year: 2023
    Details: 7 x 10 ½ x 3 ¾ in

  • Loon Whistling Bottle

    See more information about Loon Whistling Bottle
    Double chambered whistling bottle featuring Loon motif. This instrument is composed of a system of hollow vessels and tubes, and produces sound through a small whistle, which is the person inside Loon’s chest. The whistle is activated by blowing into or across the spout, or through movement of water in its interior.

    Vasija silbadora de doble cámara con motivo de Colimbo. Este instrumento está compuesto por un sistema de vasijas y tubos huecos, y produce sonido a través de un pequeño silbato, que es el personaje que se encuentra dentro del pecho del Colimbo. El silbato se activa soplando dentro o a través del pico, o mediante el movimiento del agua en su interior.
    Medium: Earthenware, oxides, pigments, beeswax
    Year: 2024
    Details: 9 x 3.75 x 10.5 in

Music/Audio

  • Confluences

    See more information about Confluences
    Featuring field recordings from Maryland, New York, Delaware, Sierra Nevada in Colombia, and Chubut in Argentina; and handmade flutes built and played by Anna Demetrides, David Benham, Georgia Beatty, Rachel Beetz, Robin Wilson, and Sean Conroy.

    The field recordings feature sounds of birdsong at dusk, bubbling streams, buzzing summer insect song, a powerful thunderstorm, and a high tide during horseshoe crab mating season. The flute songs arranged over top were played and recorded by community members, on clay flutes that they built themselves in workshops with me between 2022-2024.

    © 2024 Melissa Hyatt Foss

    Medium: Music
    Year: 2024
    Details: 32:08

  • Whewan

    See more information about Whewan
    Composition for synth, found natural instruments, handcrafted horn and flutes, and voice.

    “Whewan” is an Orkney (Scotland) word for wind that howls around corners; the imagery and mood of this word feel perfect for this piece.

    © 2023 Melissa Hyatt Foss


    Medium: Electroacoustic composition
    Year: 2023
    Details: 26:55

  • Palingenesis

    See more information about Palingenesis
    Palingenesis is a composition for hand-built triple flute, tree branches, field recordings, and electronics. The piece is a contemplation on the circular nature of time, both in relation to natural cycles, and the processes of inner healing.

    Composed using a hand-crafted ceramic triple flute, which features three different tubular flutes with intuitive microtonal tunings, the composition ebbs and flows along a patient, purposeful journey into the depths of the flute’s unique sonic material, stretching it to its limits and finally disintegrating it completely with digital processing like sampling and granular synthesis before ultimately reaching a quiet corner of focused integration.

    Mixing & Mastering by Ricardo Wheelock
    © 2024 Melissa Hyatt Foss
    Medium: Electroacoustic composition
    Year: 2024
    Details: 10:13

Booking

Booking Price: < $500

Arianna Ross, CEO, Story Tapestries
Ellen Hoobler, Curator, Walters Museum
Joy Davis, Visual Arts Director, Creative Alliance Baltimore

Arts in Education

Audiences Types: Adult Learners, Intergenerational, Early Childhood (0-3 years old), Grades Pre-K – 2, Grades 3-5, Middle School (6-8 grade), High School (9-12 grade), Creative Aging (Older Adults), People with Disabilities (includes people w/ cognitive, social/emotional, and/or physical disabilities), LGBTQ+ community, English Language Learners, Educators, Other Population/Community

Performance-based Audiovisual Presentations (Adults 15+)
Ancient peoples of all times and latitudes have used an elaborate weave of myth, art, and music to communicate their world visions. In the Americas we can connect with this heritage through a rich tradition of musical instruments whose forms, scales and sounds give us a glimpse into the extraordinary cultures that created them. Through an audiovisual presentation and live demonstrations with working recreations of ancient instruments, we will experience examples of sound and music from different cultures and explore their relevance in our world today.

Music Performance – Halconcito Pichón (Little Hawk) and the Magic Quest (Pre K through 5th grade)
In this performance students go on a journey through sound, music, and storytelling where they’re introduced to different instruments that have shaped the sonic landscape of the Americas, from rare Pre-Colonial ceramic instruments made thousands of years ago, to folk instruments that continue to shape Latin American music to this day. As they take in the melodies of flutes, rattles, noise generators, hand drum, and charango, they participate in a mythical tale of challenge and persistence that ultimately leads to triumph and celebration.

Performances can be offered in English and Spanish

Instrument-making school residencies (4th through 12th grade)
In these residencies students are introduced to musical instruments that have been made across Central and South America for thousands of years and learn through a step-by-step process with simple pottery techniques to construct their own one-of-a-kind rattles or flutes with clay. Together we navigate between the functional and visual aspects of Pre-Columbian instrument-making, exploring dimensions of sound like timbre, pitch, and volume, while developing personal story through design and decoration. Throughout the process experimentation, individual expression, creative decision making, and problem solving are emphasized.

Musical school residencies (Early Childhood through 5th grade)
Throughout this residency students are introduced to different instruments of the ancient Americas: multiple flutes, whistling bottles, and noise generators, and learn about the Ocarina, a popular and widely known instrument with great cultural and historical significance. We delve into the functional and visual aspects of Pre-Columbian instrument-making, exploring dimensions of sound like timbre, pitch, and volume, and analyzing the ways that culture and personal story are developed in design and decoration. Through structured group exercises, students experiment with sound and movement, and explore different sources of inspiration and ways of making music with an instrument that is fun and easy to play.

Professional Development Workshops
Create your own Musical Instrument for Classroom Management (For educators)
Musical instruments have helped us to communicate and express ourselves since the dawn of humanity. Learning to build and play our own musical instruments slows us down, connects us to our bodies and to our self-expression, and helps us to rediscover a sense of wonder, curiosity, and play. In this workshop teachers will learn about musical instruments that have been made across Central and South America for thousands of years and learn to build their own attention-grabbing instrument for classroom management.

Learn to Teach Instrument-Making in the Classroom (For educators)
Musical instruments have helped us to communicate and express ourselves since the dawn of humanity. Learning to build and play our own musical instruments slows us down, connects us to our bodies and to our self-expression, and helps us to rediscover a sense of wonder, curiosity, and play. In this workshop teachers will learn about musical instruments that have been made across Central and South America for thousands of years and learn to build their own clay flutes while also gaining an understanding of how to structure an instrument-making program and instruct these same skills in the classroom.

All programs can be offered in English and Spanish