Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

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Mathewson and West’s October Workshop At Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network

June 28, 2024 By Melinda

Woven Wearables with Mathewson & West

Are you like me, one who sees the beauty in Nature’s ephemera? Are you a person who enjoys collecting found treasures thinking: “Someday, I’m going to make a nice gift for someone out of this Pussy Willow”? Or, “Wouldn’t this seed-pod look interesting if I incorporate it into an art piece?” Or, “What in the world am I going to do with all these … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Artistic Uses of Plant Fibers, Artwork, Community, My Teachers, News, Students, Upcoming, Weaving from the Wild, Weaving Nature, Weaving with Cedar, Workshops Tagged With: Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network, BARN, BARN workshops, coiling, Contemporary Plant-Fiber Artists, cordage-making, fiber technology, lashing, looping, Margaret Mathewson, plaiting, Plant-Fiber Artists, preparing plant materials, random weave

Remembering Fireweed

February 21, 2014 By Melinda

2013 Fireweed on Mt Townsend

We are on the other side of winter where I live along the temperate Salish Sea, in the Pacific Northwest of North America. I'm thinking about the many people in harsh weather conditions today, even while I watch the Annas Hummingbird gathering fluffy anemone seed right out my window, one tiny beakful at a time. The little bird reminds me that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Plants and Places Tagged With: bast fiber, cordage-making, dogbane, Epilobium angustifolium, fireweed, Indian hemp, lap spinning cordage, Margaret Mathewson, nettles, Pacific Northwest, Salish Sea, winter

Weaving From the Garden – Wall

May 31, 2012 By Melinda

Ribbed Wall Baskets

  The Ribbed Wall Basket is one of my favorites.  It can be made in any size to serve special storage or display functions in the home.  These baskets bring the warmth and wonder of nature inside, and make perfect unique Northwest gifts.  Students learn to select and transform plant materials from Pacific Northwest landscapes and gardens … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Weaving from the Wild, Workshops Tagged With: branches, cordage-making, curing materials, decor, drying materials, function, gathering materials, grasses, inner cedar bark, leaves, mellowing materials, NW plant materials, preparing plant materials, ribbed, survey of materials, utility, vines, wall basket, Weaving From the Wild and Garden Landscapes

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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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