Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

  • About
    • Art Resume
    • Artist Statement – Land Acknowledgement
    • Teaching, Exhibits, Projects
  • Galleries
    • Functional Ribbed Work
    • Wall Pieces
    • Woven and Folded Bark
    • Sculptural Blends
    • Community
  • Workshops
  • Weaving Knowledge
    • Workshops
    • My Teachers
    • Resources
  • Blog
  • Contact

Lessons Learned Through Weaving

March 27, 2016 By Melinda

image

image

image

image

image

Wooh! No way am I ever going to be a “mad”weaver. But what a great time I had sharing this learning time with IslandWood graduate-student Lucy. We so enjoyed the opportunity to learn from one of my favorite artists, Dawn Walden, who makes the kind of baskets that really do take my breath away.  I won’t share any of the humbling moments of this class…let’s just say, it is really good to feel utterly confused and lost now and then…just to remember how important it is to give people time to learn at their own rate…..patience….patience….Patience!

And with such a gracious teacher as Dawn, when we came back the second day to finish our baskets, she must have been up all night “fixing” everyones gross mistakes, because we all came back to some really nice looking basket starts! It was fun to work with Birch Bark and enjoy it’s paper-like, yet strong, qualities!

Thanks to Jo Hart at Wilderness Basketry for hosting this class, and many thanks to Dawn Walden for coming far to share her wealth of knowledge with us.

Filed Under: My Teachers, Resources Tagged With: Dawn Walden, Jo Hart, mad weave

Search the site

Subscribe

Subscribe to my blog
and get updates by email.

Blog Categories

Connect with Melinda

  • Facebook
  • Instagram

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

Popular Blog Topics

art Art in the Woods Studio Tour Artistic Weaving With Western Red Cedar Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network BARN BARN workshops baskets cedar bark Cedar From Tree To Pouch Clam Basket A Story By Ed Carriere class community creative Cultural Arts Foundation NW design early spring Ed Carriere English ivy Fall First Peoples grasses inner cedar bark IslandWood ivy Katie Jennings leaves new work North Cascades Institute NW sweetgrass Pacific Northwest Small Plant Fiber Projects Spencer West spring students summer Suquamish Sydni Sterling Studio teaching vines weaving Weaving With Western Red Cedar Western red cedar winter workshop

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.
Read More
Melinda West and basket, Indianola WA

Copyright © 2021 Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry | Indianola | Washington | USA

Site by LND