Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

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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

Fall Fireweed on Mt. Townsend

October 10, 2012 By Melinda

10-7-12-6 Mt Townsend, Fireweed

Paul and I were happy to be able to sneak a day away from a busy fall, to visit our favorite close-by Olympic Mountain hike.  We've lived on the Kitsap Peninsula for 33 years, and we are pretty sure that this was our 33rd visit to Mt. Townsend.  Though it is mostly uphill to get there, the 2,880 feet of elevation is spread out over 4 miles, and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Plants and Places Tagged With: cordage, Fall, fireweed, hiking, Hood Canal, Mt Baker, Mt Kulshun, Mt Tahoma, Mt Townsend, Olympic Mountains, Rainier, thimbleberry

Art on the Trail – Messages From the Land Exhibit – Oct 1 to Nov 1, 2010

September 6, 2010 By Melinda

Precarious by Melinda West

Once autumn slips its toe in the door the days quickly shorten. On the beautiful, crisp and clear fall days, there is still gathering to do. I’ve yet to collect cattail leaves and the stems of nettle and fireweed. The sweetgrass I grow at home, was gathered weeks ago, and is now dry. Rainy days like today, give me pause to review the summer and to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Artwork, Community Tagged With: Art Along the Trail, Bainbridge Arts and Crafts, exhibit, fireweed, Messages From the Land, nettle, NW sweetgrass

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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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