Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

Images – 2011 Workshop At NCI

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I’m embarrassed it has taken me a full year to find these pictures in my computer.  Sometimes I do dream of having a personal secretary, but since that isn’t likely, I hope you will stay tuned for upcoming entries with pictures from the North Cascades Institute 2011 workshop.  I still remember clearly how hard everyone worked, taking the natural materials that most  had never touched before, and creating a functional object of their own design.  It was a delightful challenge for Elizabeth Unsell and I to keep up with these ambitious students, but the rewards were uncountable.  I hope these pictures, and those soon to follow, can give a hint of the great time we had together last August.  Elizabeth and I are looking forward to another wonderful artistic exploration with NW plant fibers when we teach at the upcoming Artist’s Retreat at NCI this September.

8-4-11 enjoying the view

8-4-11 Alaina and Rich getting organized

8-4-11 Linda and Dan ready to weave

8-4-11 Michelle and Nicole prepare parts

8-5-11 Don and Mary, 3 techniques at once

8-5-11 Elizabeth makes the rounds

8-6-11 Julie twills, Don preps his sconce

8-6-11 Linda and Nicole hard at work

More to come soon…..

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