Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

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Carrying On Traditional Knowledge Through Weaving With Plants

February 4, 2019 By Melinda

I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be together with a community of learners at IslandWood. For seventeen years the dedicated people at IslandWood have welcomed and supported my teaching/artist work, helping me learn to share my passion for making art with plant fibers. Anytime in life is the right time to learn new skills, or hone the skills we already have so that we can use them our lives and keep the knowledge living. I didn’t have much time to take pictures, and I’m sorry I didn’t get any of Ellen Miyasato in action, who assisted the first half of the day, or Judy Russell, the student who had to leave early because of the accumulating snow. But here are a few images of our fun day of Weaving From the Wild.

Weaving From The Wild a workshop at IslandWood with Melinda West
Weaving From The Wild a workshop at IslandWood with Melinda West

Jess’ car in a near miss confrontation with a tree after the workshop!

Thank you for coming, and I hope you’ll be able to stop by the Heronswood Garden Gallery during their open hours this March. I’ll be exhibiting my work along with cedar weaving artists Melissa Streun, Darlene Peters, Sue Skelly, and Polly Adams Sutton.

Filed Under: Community, News, Weaving from the Wild, Workshops Tagged With: Adult students, IslandWood, IslandWood Community Programs, weaving, Weaving From The Wild, weaving with plant fibers

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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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