Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

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Food Along the Trail – Big Leaf Maple Flower Fritters

April 14, 2022 By Melinda

Clusters of Big Leaf Maple Flowers

During these past two weeks, the forest trail I often walk along has been getting lighter and lighter, not because it’s been sunny, but because one of the largest deciduous trees in this forest community is making it’s own light as it forms thousands of clusters of cream colored, inverted cup-like flowers. As days go by, pollen dusts the clusters … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, My Teachers, News, Resources Tagged With: Big Leaf Maple, Elise Krohn, Fritters, Gather, GRuB, Sable Bruce, Tend & Grow

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Recent Posts

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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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