Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

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Hazelnut In Spring

June 3, 2022 By Melinda

I was invited to teach a Ribbed Basket Workshop this September at the Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network, or BARN. This is giving me the opportunity to slow down a minute and extrapolate some of the things I know about working with plants. Sometimes I take for granted what I’ve learned, because it’s what I do everyday, and it isn’t any more … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Artwork, Community, News, Plants and Places, Weaving from the Wild, Workshops Tagged With: BARN, BARN workshops, hazelnut, Hazelnut shoots, Ribbed Basket Con, ribbed construction, Ribbed Garden Basket, Ribbed Gift Basket

Weaving Nature Workshop Fall 2022 at BARN

April 13, 2022 By Melinda

Harvest Basket

Hello - Are you still there? My blogs have been sparse these past several years. My explanation is simple. The late Upper Skagit Elder, Vi Hilbert, many times said that her elders told her: “If you’re talking, you’re not listening!” Let’s just say I’ve been doing my best to be listening, and reading, and listening, and reflecting, and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, My Teachers, News, Upcoming, Weaving Nature, Workshops Tagged With: Appalachian Egg Basket, Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network, BARN, BARN workshops, branch work, gathering, Skagit elder Vi Hilbert, Weaving From The Wild, Weaving Nature

2020 Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network Workshops

February 14, 2020 By Melinda

Cedar and Sweet Grass Basket by Polly Adams Sutton

Sadly all the workshops planned for 2020 were cancelled to reduce the spread of Covid-19 amongst our community. I’m leaving this blog up though, in case you want to get in contact with one of these amazing teachers in the future. Also, BARN now does have a number of classes they offer virtually, so it might be worth taking a look at their … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Artwork, Community, News Tagged With: Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network, BARN, BARN workshops, Basketry Programs

2019 Basketry Program Workshops at BARN

March 22, 2019 By Melinda

Ellen Miyasato was our BARN class assistant

2019 BASKETRY WORKSHOPS AT BAINBRIDGE ARTISANS RESOURCE NETWORK March 2, 2019 - CHASING BEAR GRASS WITH POLLY ADAMS SUTTON https://bainbridgebarn.wildapricot.org/event-3116631 Those of you who have had the good fortune to take a basketry class with Polly Adams Sutton at BARN, know that she is a master basket weaver and phenomenal teacher. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Artwork, Community, News, Workshops Tagged With: Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network, BARN, BARN workshops, Basketry Programs

Peeta Tinay Teaches The Art of Twining With Reed At BARN

March 18, 2019 By Melinda

Peeta Tinay Teaches at BARN

After the snow has melted, the bulbs are up, Daphne is bloomed and even Trillium dare to expose themselves, it was time to gather for a workshop at BARN, (Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network), with Peeta Tinay. Students came from as far as north as the Gulf Islands in Canada and as far south as Astoria to spend two days learning multiple … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Artwork, Community, News, Students, Workshops Tagged With: Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network, BARN, BARN workshops, Peeta Tinay, The Art of Twining With Reed, Wickerwork

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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

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