Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

Growing, gathering, and weaving with plant fibers from the Pacific Northwest

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Lissa Hunter’s Take Two Online Workshop

February 16, 2026 By Melinda

Yes, this is an advertisement for a fun workshop with Lissa Hunter, a fantastic fiber artist and teacher. Since she lives on the other side of this broad country, we may never have had the chance to meet. I’ve admired her work from afar through fiberart and craft magazines, so when Take Two provided the opportunity for me to learn from her last … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Artwork, My Teachers, News, Upcoming, Workshops Tagged With: Connecting-A Philosophy of Making, Lissa Hunter, online class, Take Two

Ernestine Hayes – “Here We Are Together – Our Only Future Is a Future Together. As Humans.”

February 7, 2026 By Melinda

To listen to Earnestine Hayes in this beautiful short profile is a gift to any heart that aches for the ills in the world today. I’m so grateful that she found her gift of writing. I hope you enjoy! “I believe that the things that we learn about balance and about sharing and kinship and survival and dependence are not strictly Indigenous values … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, News, Resources, Uncategorized, Upcoming

Healing Words – Human Values

January 27, 2026 By Melinda

I apologize for this blog entry, as it may seem political, but I have never been more ashamed in my life to live in the United States. This president, in 2024, came into office with only 31% of the 245 million citizens eligible to vote. That is 77 million votes for trump and 168 million voters who did NOT vote for his corrupt regime. I think of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, News Tagged With: Baby, Chris LaTray, Plant, Robin Wall Kimmerer

Greetings – It’s 2026!

January 21, 2026 By Melinda

Handmade Baskets

Hello. I hope each of you are finding healthy ways to embrace life each day. I am coping by working with my hands, digging in the soil, planting seeds, weaving baskets, and preparing materials for the very special students who have already filled my April 2026 workshop at BARN, Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network. I know there is a large waitlist, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: News, Upcoming, Weaving Nature Tagged With: Bainbridge Artisans Resouce Network, BARN workshops, Craft 2026

The Community Completes the Artist

November 14, 2025 By Melinda

There are lots of reasons artists create their work…necessity (pay the bills), compulsion, yearning, expression, exploration, joy, invention, obligation….but many of us do our work alone. One of the beautiful things that happens when artists open up their studios to the outside world…is the interaction and exchange of ideas with friends, neighbors, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Artwork, Community, News, Upcoming Tagged With: Art in the Woods 2025, Art in the Woods Studio Tour, cafnw, community, Community partnership, Cultural Arts Foundation NW, fiber art, painting, Sydni Sterling painter, Sydni Sterling Studio

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Recent Posts

  • Lissa Hunter’s Take Two Online Workshop
  • Ernestine Hayes – “Here We Are Together – Our Only Future Is a Future Together. As Humans.”
  • Healing Words – Human Values
  • Greetings – It’s 2026!
  • The Community Completes the Artist

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About Melinda

Forty years ago, while sitting on the beach playing with my young children, I made my first basket out of a pile of willow trimmings someone had tossed there. It looked wildly made like a crazy bird’s nest. While being together with my two sons on a beautiful Pacific Northwest shoreline, this simple experience of crafting with the natural materials at hand kindled a passion for creating forms using plant fibers. I thank my family, my community, and all my teachers for cultivating this gift in me.
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