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Melissa Matson 鈥�78E, 鈥�80E (MM) has always liked to 鈥渕ake stuff.鈥�

Growing up in northern California, she made forts in the walnut trees on her family鈥檚 property. She followed along when TV鈥檚 Captain Kangaroo brought out his shoebox full of craft supplies and embarked on a new project using a milk carton or another found object. She learned to sew at a young age, and looked forward to family trips to Britex, a fabric store in San Francisco where she would 鈥渂ask in all the fabrics.鈥�

Matson is principal violist with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and an associate professor of orchestral repertory at the Eastman School of Music. But she hasn鈥檛 stopped making things. These days she finds a creative outlet in making colorful artisan-dyed fabric and garments鈥� something she鈥檚 been doing for about 15 years.

Inside the second-floor studio in her Honeoye Falls home hang dyed pieces of many sizes and colors, as well as completed jackets and scarves. She honed her skills at a screen printing workshop with Jane Dunnewold, whose book, Complex Cloth, first got Matson interested in the art. Dunnewold uses ordinary household materials such as masking tape, glue, and flour paste on her screens before dyeing, depending on the desired effect. She calls her method 鈥渋mprovisational,鈥� and it鈥檚 an approach Matson has embraced.

鈥淚 just keep experimenting and see where it goes. Each piece is unique,鈥� Matson says, proudly. Some are inspired by the rhythm of poetry. Some are the result of experimentation with color and texture. Some have more of a personal touch.

Matson pulls out a jacket and gently fingers screen-printed images of her mother and grandmother as little girls鈥攖hey are enveloped by the bold, gold pattern covering the piece. She says her mother supported her interests and encouraged her to experiment on her sewing projects as a child.

Her background as a musician sometimes influences her creations. 鈥淧eople say that my fabrics look musical,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 think that has a lot to do with the flow and emotion that come when I play [music]. The fabrics I鈥檝e made that I like the least are the ones that just sit there and don鈥檛 really have any motion.鈥�

She鈥檚 found parallels between being a musician and a fabric artist. She says she鈥檚 always striving to find a better way to make music鈥攁 richer phrase or more interesting color in her playing. She takes the same approach to dyeing fabric.

There are differences, too. For example, playing music with the orchestra is more collaborative than the solo work of dyeing fabrics.

鈥淭his is a little freeing, but also adds more responsibility, because it鈥檚 all me,鈥� Matson says about screen printing. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 great, it鈥檚 me. If it鈥檚 ugly, it鈥檚 me.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 nice about fabric making is that it frees me from the fear of making mistakes. There are no mistakes when I鈥檓 dyeing fabric. If I do something unexpected, it could be a really great discovery or it could be really bad.

鈥淏ut I can always dye it again. I always say that if at first you don鈥檛 succeed, dye, dye again.鈥� 鈥擩ennifer Roach