Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

Cedar-Tree To Pouch

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I am grateful to my friend and neighbor, Suquamish elder, Ed Carriere, for teaching me how to make folded bark pouches, and for giving me his blessing to teach this class!  If Ed weren't so busy teaching for the Burke Museum, researching and making replicas of 2000 year old baskets, and having others documenting his life for publication and in … [Read more...]

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