Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

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Cedar-Tree To Pouch

June 8, 2015 By Melinda

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...]

Filed Under: Students, Weaving with Cedar, Workshops Tagged With: Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network, BARN, berry picking pouche, Cedar From Tree To Pouch, Folded and Sewn Pouch, gathering cedar bark, quiver, respectful gathering, students, Weaving With Western Red Cedar

Gathering Cedar Bark

April 25, 2011 By Melinda

Here's my crew! Asha and Calla are in charge. The owners of this property have decided they need to remove these two Western Red Cedar trees. Passiko and Dean waited to get them cut down, until the sap was up, so that we could gather the inner bark. We've all made our personal apologies to these beautiful cedars for what we are about to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Plants and Places Tagged With: Asha, Calla, gathering cedar bark, grandchildren, grateful, Passiko and Dean, Spencer West, Western red cedar

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Recent Posts

  • Bare Bones Abstracts
  • A Space to Work and Meet
  • Cedar Bark – Useful and Beautiful
  • October 2020 London Craft Week at J&M Davidson
  • Land Acknowledgement 2020

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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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