Melanie Wilder

My Story

I am a North Carolina native and have called the Swannanoa Valley home since arriving at Warren Wilson College for my undergraduate studies in the late 1990s. I am honored to have spent the past sixteen years building and sustaining the fibers craft program here at the college. I am a place-based fiber artist and weaver whose work centers on material knowledge, process, and making as a form of inquiry.

My studio practice and teaching are grounded in the belief that craft can create intentional space for dialogue, reflection, and action related to social and environmental justice. Through fiber, I explore the responsibilities we hold to land, labor, and community, and the ways material practices carry both historical and contemporary meaning.

My work values the balance between expressive, conceptual exploration and the practical realities of sustaining a life in craft, and I am committed to helping students navigate both creative practice and the business of making.