Melissa Lamont-Gordon
is an active fiber artist who often incorporates nuno felting, wet felting, sewing, weaving, knitting and spinning her own yarn into her work. She was an exhibiting artist at Crossroads Art Center several years ago, and has been an exhibiting artist at The Bay School Community Arts Center in Mathews County Virginia since 2022, joining the Board of Directors there in 2025. She exhibits in both themed shows and is an artist in residence there.
Melissa is also a professional musician. As a child, she began violin lessons at a summer fine arts workshop in her hometown. This led to a career in the performing arts, specifically, directing high school orchestras, the Richmond Symphony Young Performers Artists Youth Orchestra, and instructing Advanced Placement Music Theory. She is still active in the music profession as a guest conductor and adjudicator.
After retiring from teaching in 2016, Melissa began to explore more of the fiber art world, teaching herself how to weave, spin, and, most recently, wet and nuno felt, which has opened up a new world of artistic expression. She creates both wearable and functional art– much of which is upcycled.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Fiber, fabric and “floof” have always fascinated me. I enjoy the challenge of taking raw materials and creating something beautiful and often functional. My fiber journey began when I was a child – learning from my grandmother how to knit, and then learning needlepoint and basic crochet. By high school, I was sewing my own clothing, and continued to sew and knit through music school and my career.
Currently, I work from my studio in Mathews County Virginia, where I have several looms, sewing machines, and a spinning wheel. I use these tools to create artwork from raw fibers and fabrics, often combining the two.