Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

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Food For Thought – No Reconciliation Can Come Without Truth

May 30, 2022 By Melinda

Native plants, like Thimbleberry, have been appreciated as a delicious food source in the Pacific Northwest where I live. Salmon Berries are starting to form in these woods. They are already ripe at the sunny edges of the forest and borders of wetlands. The blossoms of the Salal will soon become another favorite berry of the Coast … [Read more...]

Filed Under: News, Plants and Places, Resources

Food Along the Trail – Big Leaf Maple Flower Fritters

April 14, 2022 By Melinda

Clusters of Big Leaf Maple Flowers

During these past two weeks, the forest trail I often walk along has been getting lighter and lighter, not because it’s been sunny, but because one of the largest deciduous trees in this forest community is making it’s own light as it forms thousands of clusters of cream colored, inverted cup-like flowers. As days go by, pollen dusts the clusters … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, My Teachers, News, Resources Tagged With: Big Leaf Maple, Elise Krohn, Fritters, Gather, GRuB, Sable Bruce, Tend & Grow

Weaving Words – 1990 Suquamish-Indianola Oral Histories

April 3, 2021 By Melinda

Weaving Words - 1990 Suquamish-Indianola Oral Histories Thirty years ago, some White land owners from the community where I live attempted to block the sale of land to the Suquamish Tribe. For most of time, this land was known to be a part of Traditional Suquamish Territory, so the Tribe persisted and eventually purchased enough land in Indianola … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, My Teachers, News, Resources, Upcoming Tagged With: 1990 Suquamish-Indianola Storytelling Project, Ed Carriere, Elliott Pickrell, Ethel Kitsap Sam, Eva Meacham, Ida Purser, Jo MacKay Imeson, Joan Sunde, Lawrence Webster, MacKay Family, Marilyn Wandrey, Oral Histories, Reine Enschede, Suquamish Museum

Land Acknowledgement 2020

August 22, 2020 By Melinda

Walking to the studio-image by Claire Dibble

Land Acknowledgement 2020 I acknowledge that I reside on the traditional territory of the Suquamish Peoples, People of the Clear Salt Water, whose ancestors have lived here from time immemorial, preserving the land and waters that five generations of my own family have benefitted from. I express my deepest respect and gratitude for all indigenous … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, My Teachers, News, Plants and Places, Resources Tagged With: Land Acknowledgement, Marilyn Wandrey, S’Klallam, Suquamish

Cedar Pouch Class at BARN – June 2017 Recap

July 14, 2017 By Melinda

Folded Cedar Bark Baskets by Melinda West

This June, the Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network opened the doors to eleven artisans studios, with several common spaces for programs and intermingling. Located on Bainbridge Island, Washington, this center for artisans has been a dream in the making for many years. Not everyone is fortunate to have a studio space. Many of us have spent periods … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, News, Resources, Students, Weaving with Cedar, Workshops Tagged With: Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network, BARN, BARN workshops, Berry Pouch, Cedar Pouch, community, Island Wood, students

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  • Hazelnut In Spring
  • Food For Thought – No Reconciliation Can Come Without Truth
  • Weaving Project With Periscope Woodcraft
  • Food Along the Trail – Big Leaf Maple Flower Fritters
  • Weaving Nature Workshop Fall 2022 at BARN

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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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