(machine whirring) (machine thudding) (light piano music) (machine thudding) - This is a pneumatic tufting machine.

It uses an air compressor to push yarn through the needle.

(machine whirring) I really like how physical tufting is.

(light piano music) When I was just painting, I felt like I was very stagnant, like I was sitting a lot, or kind of hunched over and when I started tufting, it was like, oh, it felt really good to use my body in that way to like, create art.

I feel like it's really hard to stand out as a painter and not as many people are doing the fiber craft, so people are excited to see something new.

(upbeat alternative music) - When I first saw Melissa's work, I was completely joyful and blown away.

(upbeat alternative music) - I wanted to do a teddy bear stool and then the inside of here was hollow, and so I actually put stuffed teddy bears inside of there.

I called it 'What's On The Inside Is On The Outside'.

He looks surprised.

Those big eyes.

- Melissa brings a uniqueness.

It's so fresh.

Her view of how she's approaching imagery, animals and color is connecting with audiences of different ages and genders makes it stand out.

- People love fiber.

They just want to touch it.

It has like this other thing that people can relate to.

Memory-wise, like their grandma making a quilt.

Women's crafts were not looked at as art for a long time.

- There is a resurgence of women in craft.

- This is called 'Happiness Piggy Bank'.

- [Marsha] Melissa's work does take women's crafts to another level.

- There's this and then yeah, face there.

- [Marsha] Because it just brings a kind of fun, funky, playfulness to it.

But a lot of her tufted work is really inventive and breaking through boundaries and themes, very freeing and celebratory.

(mid-tempo alternative music) - [Melissa] The masks are probably the closest to me.

I don't always sell them.

When I put on the mask, it feels like a spiritual practice of play.

(wind rushing) Putting on the mask is like taking off the mask of yourself.

You don't have to have that fake smile.

Just be safe.

Ooh.

When I make work for myself, it just has so much more personality.

- [Interviewer] How would you describe yourself?

- [Melissa] I had a video on Instagram go viral and it got two and a half million views.

Immediately, I sold a lot of work, which was really great, and then also a lot of opportunities from galleries.

I just take pictures of stuff everywhere I go and then reference that back when I'm starting to create a piece.

So it's just like stuff from books or different artists or antique items that inspire me.

There it is.

So there's a horse that I use in the big piece.

I like that guy.

(chuckles) Being self-taught is really great.

I don't know how to technically draw.

I almost don't wanna learn how to draw too good because I think it would just affect my style so much.

I don't have the classical training that a lot of people get, how art is supposed to look.

I'm able to create from my inner self, not with those rules or teachings that might hold me back in some ways.

There.

These little scissors pop out.

(machine whirring) I think he wants some orange lips.

(chuckles) That's what he's telling me right now.

I don't usually plan very much.

I let the piece grow on its own and then it's kind of like a surprise for myself.

(razor buzzing) (vacuum whooshing) Really gives it more detail where I've carved like in between there.

A lot of times when I am creating, locked memories will come up, or I'll be including imagery that relates to like, my childhood.

(inspiring piano music) I feel like it looks kind of embarrassed.

It's just kind of like, oh, I did that and then on this side, like, he's happy it did it even though it was scary.

I started making art in 2012.

I was working at a coffee shop.

There was an artist painting a mural and he's like, yeah, this is my job.

And I said, people paint for a job?

My husband at the time was a contractor, so we had like, a lot of like wood and house paint and stuff like that, so I just started like, pouring paint onto the wood and crushing glass into it.

I didn't realize, like fully how angry I was and it really let me let out a lot of anger.

So like crushing the glass, it felt like just being able to release in a healthy way.

Painting really emboldened me to like, make decisions in my life that I needed to make.

Okay.

Got divorced.

It was very scary.

I had three kids before I was 25 and I got married at 19.

I was just paying my rent by selling paintings on eBay.

It's like she's grabbing for the sky.

(mid-tempo alternative music) People are drawn to my art because of the vulnerable aspect of it.

(mid-tempo alternative music) ♪ Don't lock me away ♪ ♪ Lock me away ♪ - I really like to make silly, serious artwork.

I like to, you know, maybe draw people in with that makes me laugh or that makes me smile, but then also have like this serious side of it that's like, oh, but there's more going on there that can connect emotionally to people.

♪ Don't lock me away ♪ ♪ I need to fly ♪ - [Melissa] If I can create a piece that makes you, you know, laugh and cry, I think that's the ultimate goal.