Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

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Clam Shell Rattle Necklaces

May 24, 2014 By Melinda

2014Odyssey

I was delighted to be invited by teacher, Peggy Koivu, to share the cultural art and science story that my practice of art imparts, with her first and second graders at their Environmental Education Camp retreat. Part of the Bainbridge Island Public School system, this was a class from their Odyssey Program, an alternative program involving lots of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Students, Weaving Nature, Workshops Tagged With: Bainbridge Island, clam basket, clam shell rattle necklace, cultural art, Ed Carriere, Environmental Science, first and second graders, First Peoples, Katie Jennings, Media Alley, Odyessy Program, Pacific Northwest, Peggy Koivu, public schools, Small Plant Fiber Projects, spring, Suquamish elder

Traditional Fishing Weir

June 12, 2012 By Melinda

Cedar Limb Weir

This split cedar root and cedar limb fishing weir was just completed by Suquamish weaver Ed Carriere.  He spent most of the year working on materials preparation; every elders trip; all his sight-seeing voyages from China, to Antarctica, to Mexico, and the Bahamas.  Ed gets around in his retirement and has made the largest open twined basket that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: My Teachers, News Tagged With: canoes, cedar limb, cedar root, clam basket, Clam Basket A Story By Ed Carriere, cultural art film, Ed Carriere, fish weir, my teachers, Suquamish, weir

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Recent Posts

  • Bare Bones Abstracts
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  • Cedar Bark – Useful and Beautiful
  • October 2020 London Craft Week at J&M Davidson
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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.
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Melinda West and basket, Indianola WA

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