Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

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Betty Pasco – Recipient of the Bainbridge Island Museum of Arts BRAVA AWARD in 2023

May 9, 2024 By Melinda

Betty Pasco

Here it is finally, full-on Spring where I live. The birds are singing and chattering, zipping by me as I wander through the garden. Thoughts of last Spring come around again and I remember being invited into the home of Betty and Duane Pasco. Betty is in her 80’s, Duane in his 90’s. They are both excellent storytellers because they have memories … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Artwork, Community, My Teachers, News, Plants and Places, Resources, Students, Upcoming Tagged With: Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Betty Pasco, BIMA, BRAVA AWARD, Cedar Sail, Coast Salish, culture, Duane Pasco, Kitsap County, LIttle Boston Port Gamble S’Klallam, Point Julia

Gratitudes For the Cedar Exhibit at Heronswood

March 27, 2019 By Melinda

Darlene Peters S’Klallam Cultural Teacher & Weaver

I am overwhelmed with gratitude for every person here. Hannah Jones who made this exhibit so beautiful & Deb Sweet who helped build the weaving programs at BARN. Dan Hinkley, one of the original Heronswood Founders, who now offers his guidance and expertise as the Port Gamble S’Klallam Foundation breathes life back into the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Artwork, Community, My Teachers, Upcoming Tagged With: Betty Pasco, Clam Basket A Story By Ed Carriere, Dan Hinkley, Darlene Peters, Denise Dumouchel, Duane Pasco, Ed Carriere, Ellen Miyasato, Hannah Jones, Heronswood Garden, Heronswood Garden House Exhibit, Jessica Henderson, Joan Garrow, Karen Salsbury, Katie Jennings, LeeAnn Woolery, Makita Wilborn, Melissa Streun, Polly Adams Sutton, S’Klallam, Skagit elder Vi Hilbert, Skokomish elder Bruce Miller, Sue Skelly

The Faering is Launched

December 6, 2012 By Melinda

2012 Nov 25, faering on Puget Sound

In 2009-2010 our eldest son, Spencer West, had the privilege of working with a team of excellent wood carvers who were gathered at Duane and Betty Pasco's to carve the Raven Canoe.  This canoe was being created for a Canoe family to be paddled on the Canoe Journey to Neah Bay.  The first of these canoe journeys, in recent times, was held in 1989 at … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, News Tagged With: ancient, Betty Pasco, canoe, community, Duane Pasco, faering, four oar boat, gokstad viking boat, grateful, Mt Rainier, Mt Tahoma, Raven canoe, Salish Sea, Spencer West, viking

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Recent Posts

  • 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
  • Here’s What’s Cooking – Porch Paper Making

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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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