Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

Late Winter Papermaking – Mixing Siberian Iris Leaves and Lichens

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On the menu for papermaking - as late winter wind storms loosen lichens from the trees, dropping them all over the trails I walk along, I recognize this gift from the canopy above. On each walk I collect a pocketful of the beautiful lichens just so I can study their interesting structures more closely. But I also know from past experience that … [Read more...]

Here’s What’s Cooking – Porch Paper Making

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Hi Friends. I haven’t forgotten you are out there. In the midst of current affairs it is important to know there way more wonderful humans, like you, who are doing their best to be good citizens, good neighbors, good people, and to live creative and purposeful lives. Against the darkness of our political times, there are many examples of people … [Read more...]

Mathewson and West’s Woven Wearables Workshop at BARN

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When we share our art making with others, magic happens! We are grateful for the wonderful students that turned out for the Woven Wearables workshop this October at the Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network (BARN). Some of you came from as far as Oregon and Alaska. Others traveled less physical distance, but you all had in common that you made … [Read more...]

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

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Are you like me, one who sees the beauty in Nature’s ephemera? Are you a person who enjoys collecting found treasures thinking: “Someday, I’m going to make a nice gift for someone out of this Pussy Willow”? Or, “Wouldn’t this seed-pod look interesting if I incorporate it into an art piece?” Or, “What in the world am I going to do with all these … [Read more...]

Fish Skin Preparation into a Material For Craft

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In 2018, Karen Magnuson-Sherwood, being the kind and generous teacher she is, traveled to Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network (BARN) on Bainbridge Island, to teach a class demonstrating use of preserved fish skins woven into a lovely cedar basket.   In October 2023, what a delight that Audrey Armstrong agreed to come all the way … [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