Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

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Bloedel Reserve Residency Notes #2

July 5, 2023 By Melinda

I am grateful to be in the fellowship of writers, poets, scientists, culture keepers, composers and art-makers of all types, as a participant in the 2023 Bloedel Reserve’s Creative Residency Program. There I was able to completely loose track of all the usual markers of time in my life. For me, the gift of time for reflection and discovery is an … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Artistic Uses of Plant Fibers, Community, News, Plants and Places, Upcoming, Weaving Nature Tagged With: Appendix X Funds, artist residency, Bloedel Reserve, English ivy, grateful, gratitude, Nootka Rose, Pacific Northwest plant materials, Scholar in Residence, Scholar in Residence 2023, Suquamish Nation, Suquamish tribe

Bloedel Reserve Residency Notes #1

June 8, 2023 By Melinda

Hello You, “To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.” (Mary Oliver) I hope this note finds you in a good place. I am writing during a residency at the Bloedel Reserve in Washington State. Here, the plants are in a frenzy of growth since the warm weather has arrived. Opening the door, stepping outside and breathing deeply, is all … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Artwork, Community, News, Plants and Places, Upcoming Tagged With: art books, Artist’s Books Unshelved, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, BIMA, Bloedel Reserve, Carolina Veenstra, Cynthia Sears, Heidi Kyle, Kathy Dickerson, Katie Jennings, New Canoe Media, Scholar in Residence, Susana Dominguez Martin

Ed Carriere’s Residency at Bloedel Reserve

March 13, 2021 By Melinda

It was a delight to spend a sunny afternoon this March visiting Suquamish Master Weaver and Cultural Teacher, Ed Carriere, during his Artist in Residency at the Bloedel Reserve. Suquamish Elder, Marilyn Wandrey, Ed’s younger cousin, explored the native woodland landscape on Bainbridge Island that surrounds the beautiful house where Ed is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, My Teachers, News, Upcoming, Weaving with Cedar Tagged With: Artist in Residency, Bloedel Reserve, Ed Carriere, Marilyn Wandrey, National Museum of Natural History, National Treasures, Split Cedar Limbs, Split Cedar Roots

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Recent Posts

  • Local History – Interview With Barbara Ann Lawrence – Suquamish Tribal Cultural Teacher and Storyteller
  • Porch Papermaking With Food Plants – Cardoon and Kale
  • Paper from the Ditch – Weathered Reed Canary Grass
  • Late Winter Papermaking – Mixing Siberian Iris Leaves and Lichens
  • More Spring Porch Papermaking – With Ivy Leaves

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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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