Mud to Music: Clay Rattle Making

Since the dawn of human culture, musical instruments have served as powerful tools for communication, creative expression, and connection. They synchronized communal work and celebration, carried prayers in sacred ceremonies, supported healing, and bridged the worlds of humans, ancestors, and the divine. Among the oldest of these instruments are clay rattles; simple but powerful sound-makers found across continents and often linked to the supernatural.

In this hands-on workshop, you will learn about ceramic musical instruments of the ancient Americas and practice simple hand-building techniques as you explore sound design and sculpture to build your own unique clay rattles. Whether you are drawn to craft, music or cultural heritage, this workshop offers a grounding, playful, and inspiring journey into sound and tradition through the creation of an instrument that carries both ancient history and your personal creative spirit.

Artist Bio

Melissa Hyatt Foss is an instrument-maker, musician, composer-performer, and teaching artist who co-creates with an ever-growing collection of instruments that she hand-crafts with clay. She received her training in Argentina where she developed her career as a performer, instrument-maker, teaching artist, and researcher for nearly a decade in connection with the National University of Argentina. There she completed her master’s degree in Musical Composition, New Technologies, and Traditional Arts, taught in the Bachelor’s program in Indigenous, Classical, and Popular Music of America, and performed as a soloist for seven years with the Orchestra of Indigenous Instruments and New Technologies.

Since returning to the US in 2021, Melissa has created and delivered innovative, bilingual educational programming with the Baltimore Museum of Art, Walters Art Museum, National Gallery of Art, UMBC, Shepherd University, Enoch Pratt Libraries, Creative Alliance, and Baltimore Clayworks, and numerous early childhood through 8th-grade classrooms across Maryland.

Catalogue of work: catalogue.melissahyattfoss.com

Website: melissahyattfoss.com

Instagram: @_melissa.hyatt_