Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

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Welcome to My Blog

As a contemporary visual artist I've been exploring the traditional art of weaving with plant fibers since 1985. I gather materials respectfully, recycling bark off of trees that are being cut down, pruning selectively to encourage the growth and health of plants, and replanting at every opportunity. I enjoy sharing the lessons I've learned from my generous teachers.

Being a hands-on, low-tech type person, I will do my best to make weekly (or at least monthly) posts. I like writing about the making process, worthwhile community projects, and sharing practical ideas of what the seasons have to offer those who are longing to live creatively within the rhythms of the natural world.

Local History – Interview With Barbara Ann Lawrence – Suquamish Tribal Cultural Teacher and Storyteller

I live on the traditional land of the Suquamish People. There is so much history and culture here and all the time I’m learning more, hearing more of the Lushootseed language spoken, watching the canoes being crafted and returning to the waters, witnessing the weavers teaching the next generation of weavers.

Blog Categories

Local History – Interview With Barbara Ann Lawrence – Suquamish Tribal Cultural Teacher and Storyteller

May 19, 2025

I live on the traditional land of the Suquamish People. There is so much history and culture here and all the time I’m learning more, hearing more of the Lushootseed language spoken, watching the canoes being crafted and returning to the waters, witnessing the weavers teaching the next generation of weavers.

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Porch Papermaking With Food Plants – Cardoon and Kale

May 14, 2025

Spring is flying by and the garden requires my attention. Before I forget, here are a few more plant-fiber paper experiments to share.

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Paper from the Ditch – Weathered Reed Canary Grass

April 24, 2025

Porch Papermaking last week was an experiment with last season’s Reed Canary Grass that grows in the ditches where I live. Next week…Cardoon.

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Late Winter Papermaking – Mixing Siberian Iris Leaves and Lichens

March 24, 2025

On the menu for papermaking – as late winter wind storms loosened lichens from the trees and dropped them all over the trails I walk along, I recognize this gift from the canopy above.

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More Spring Porch Papermaking – With Ivy Leaves

March 17, 2025

I wonder what kind of a paper Ivy leaves will make?

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Here’s What’s Cooking – Porch Paper Making

February 19, 2025

To remain sane, what do you do? I’m cooking Sword Ferns this month to see if the green leaves can make a good paper.

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Grateful for a Community That Supports Local Artists

November 14, 2024

Syd and I want to thank all of you who came out to visit us and support our work during the Art in the Woods Studio Tour.

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Art in the Woods Studio Tour 2024

November 2, 2024

We hope to see you next weekend. Painter Sydni Sterling and I are in Sterling Studio which is Studio #2 in Indianola, just a block away from the Indianola Country Store.

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Mathewson and West’s Woven Wearables Workshop at BARN

October 26, 2024

Mathewson and West collaborate to teach “Woven Wearables” at Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network.

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Woven Wearables with Mathewson & West

Mathewson and West’s October Workshop At Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network

June 28, 2024

Spend three inspired days exploring local plant-fiber use and universal fiber techniques with two contemporary plant-fiber artists, Margaret Mathewson and Melinda West, at the Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network.

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The Launch of the Valkyrie – Anacortes, Washington, US

May 10, 2024

March 21, 2024, on the first day of Spring, the 56+ foot vessel named Valkyrie, over a decade in the crafting, graced the waters of the Salish Sea.

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Betty Pasco

Betty Pasco – Recipient of the Bainbridge Island Museum of Arts BRAVA AWARD in 2023

May 9, 2024

Thinking about one of my favorite people in the world, Betty Pasco.

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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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Melinda West and basket, Indianola WA

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