Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

The Community Completes the Artist

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There are lots of reasons artists create their work…necessity (pay the bills), compulsion, yearning, expression, exploration, joy, invention, obligation….but many of us do our work alone. One of the beautiful things that happens when artists open up their studios to the outside world…is the interaction and exchange of ideas with friends, neighbors, … [Read more...]

Community Support For Artists

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Many thanks to all who visited us during this Art In The Woods Studio Tour. We hope to see you again next year.  Please watch for Sydni Sterling's new website to be launched in 2016, and for my new contemporary work and traditional woven pieces to be presented here on my website.  Every year infuses us with new experiences and life lessons that are … [Read more...]

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