Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

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IslandWood Artist Residency Spring 2018 – Blog Catching Up

June 5, 2019 By Melinda

Students plant young Cedar Trees

I’ve never gotten to teach with a baby on board, but having 7 week old Verite with us for some of our teaching time added to the experience of sharing sharing skills in a more traditional way - as a family. Verie’s mom, Kah-Ty-Ah Lawrence Moran, was team-teaching with me for the two weeks of my IslandWood Artist Residency in May of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, News, Students, Weaving Nature Tagged With: Cedar Mat Necklace Pouch, IslandWood, IslandWood Artist in Residence, Suquamish

August 26-27 – Weaving Nature-Plant Fiber Projects Blending Culture, Science & Art

July 29, 2017 By Melinda

Dividing the inner and outer bark layers

Each year for the past fifteen, I've had the privilege of spending two intensive weeks teaching the craft of weaving with plant fibers, to young people with wildly diverse backgrounds, between the ages of 8 and 14.  As an Artist in Residence at IslandWood, an environmental education campus on Bainbridge Island, just a ferry ride across the water … [Read more...]

Filed Under: News, Upcoming, Weaving Nature, Workshops Tagged With: Artist in the Woods Residency, Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network, BARN, cattail, iris, IslandWood, Project for kids, publication, Science & Art, Seasonal Round, Traditional Ecological Knowlede, vines, Weaving Naure - Plant Fiber Projects Blending Culture, Western red cedar, workshop

Artist in the Woods Residency at IslandWood

April 11, 2017 By Melinda

Dunlap Elementary Student at IslandWood

I am grateful to have been nutured as an artist and communicator through my 15 year relationship with IslandWood.  Each year, while serving as an Artist in Residence, I've met nearly 3,000 wonderful people that have changed my life in some way. Young people that I would have never chanced to meet. Outstanding teachers, scientists, cultural leaders, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: News, Weaving Nature, Workshops Tagged With: Artist in the Woods, Artist in the Woods Residency, Carl Sandberg Elementary, Dunlap Elementary, IslandWood, Juanita Elementary

Spring Project at IslandWood 2017

February 22, 2017 By Melinda

2013 Pendants made by 5th graders at IslandWood

… [Read more...]

Filed Under: News, Upcoming, Weaving Nature Tagged With: Artist in the Wood Residency, IslandWood

Suquamish Elementary Students

June 4, 2016 By Melinda

In 1985, our eldest son, Spence, began kindergarden at Suquamish Elementary, the first year of his public school experience.  Our youngest son, Jeff, was three years old then, and I  had recently transitioned away from my nursing job in Seattle, to become a full-time "Home-Maker". By a gift of good fortune, I was then able to begin studying Art, in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Students, Weaving Nature, Workshops Tagged With: 5th graders, Camp Indianola, cedar mat wall hangings, cultural art, environmental education, Stillwaters, Suquamish Elementary, Suquamish tribe, Western red cedar

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Recent Posts

  • Bare Bones Abstracts
  • A Space to Work and Meet
  • Cedar Bark – Useful and Beautiful
  • October 2020 London Craft Week at J&M Davidson
  • Land Acknowledgement 2020

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About Melinda

Thirty 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. The experience of weaving with the materials at hand while being together with my sons on a beautiful Pacific Northwest shoreline, kindled a passion for creating art from natural plant materials. I thank my family, my community, and all my teachers for cultivating this gift in me.
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