Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

Food Along the Trail – Big Leaf Maple Flower Fritters

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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...]

Weaving Words – 1990 Suquamish-Indianola Oral Histories

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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...]

Land Acknowledgement 2020

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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...]

Cedar Pouch Class at BARN – June 2017 Recap

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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...]

Ed Carriere Recreates Salish Basketry From Ancient Fragments

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Many cultures have practiced the "Oral Tradition" as a way of retaining and passing on important information about their own personal an communal history stories, about how they came into existence, and about how they are expected to live to be spiritual and physical humans who function well in communities of other living plants, animals, and … [Read more...]

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