Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

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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

Sword Fern

January 1, 2012 By Melinda

Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum), is widespread throughout the Pacific Northwest. It is an evergreen understory plant that thrives at the base of conifers and is often found mingling with Vine maple, Hazelnut, and Big Leaf maple.  This is a really tough plant, that can survive in drought conditions once established, yet can handle the wet weather … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Plants and Places Tagged With: bedding, clam bake on beach, Clam Basket A Story By Ed Carriere, cultural art film, Ed Carriere, fern, fern use, flooring, food, food preparation, plants, Suquamish elder

Clam Basket – A Story By Ed Carriere

September 3, 2011 By Melinda

Suquamish Master Weaver Ed Carriere

This Wonderful Cultural Art Film is Now Available After decades of dreaming, and two years in the making, this story has found a beautiful way to be told. For the Puget Sound Coast Salish People of the Suquamish Tribe, weaving baskets from cedar limbs and roots and digging clams are age-old traditions that come together in the Clam Basket. This … [Read more...]

Filed Under: My Teachers, News, Resources, Weaving with Cedar Tagged With: 15 minute film, Clam Basket A Story By Ed Carriere, cultural art film, cultural art story, DVD, Ed Carriere, Katie Jennings, Media Alley, purchase directly from Ed Carriere, short film, story by Ed Carriere, Suquamish, Suquamish elder

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  • 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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