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

Northwest Basket Weavers Guild Program – January 8, 2020

December 29, 2019 By Melinda

Welcome to the new year 2020.  I’ll be sharing a presentation at the Northwest Basket Weavers Guild meeting at Phinney Neighborhood Center in Seattle on January 8th. For information about time, how to come as a guest, info about membership, please check out their website at: nwbasketweavers.org

Location is:  Phinney Neighborhood Center – Room 6, 6532 Phinney Ave N, Seattle, WA  98103

Winter is the best time to do the hard work of transformation, especially if you are a Western Red Cedar Tree. This is the season when the layer of leather-like inner bark, that generations of Salish weavers have gathered each spring, will become a layer of wood in a growth-ring that may one day be counted. I am delighted to share highlights of some of the transformative experiences and lessons learned from the plants I use in weaving, and from my students, over the nearly four decades of sharing the art and culture of plant fiber weaving.

Weaving Nature with Melinda West
Weaving is part of the Seasonal Round – Gathering Limbs in Winter

Students at IslandWood 2019 Weaving From the Landscape Workshop – Winter is a natural time to weave together.

Students plant young Cedar Trees
Students plant young Cedar Trees at IslandWood, Giving back is the most important part of the lesson of plants.
Cattail Gathering With Camas, my grandson, in early summer.

Our bullrush and cattail harvest – now we need to haul this all back to the car, and begin to process the materials while they are wet & fresh.

Come learn more about the seasons of gathering, favorite native plants and garden plants, and the processes that make the plant fibers more useful for weaving.

Filed Under: Community, News, Plants and Places, Upcoming Tagged With: Northwest Basket Weavers Guild, NWBW Guild Program, Plant fiber weaving

Search the site

Subscribe

Blog Categories

Connect with Melinda

  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Recent Posts

  • Weaving Project With Periscope Woodcraft
  • Food Along the Trail – Big Leaf Maple Flower Fritters
  • Weaving Nature Workshop Fall 2022 at BARN
  • Paper From Plants – A Lesson in Resilience
  • Fireweed and Nettle Fiber Papers

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 Paper making Small Plant Fiber Projects spring students summer Suquamish Sydni Sterling Studio teaching vines weaving Weaving With Western Red Cedar Western red cedar winter workshop

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.
Read More
Melinda West and basket, Indianola WA

Copyright © 2022 Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry | Indianola | Washington | USA

Site by LND