Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

IslandWood Artist Residency Spring 2018 – Blog Catching Up

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I’ve never gotten to teach with a baby on board, but having 7 week old Verite with us for some of our teaching time added to the experience of sharing sharing skills in a more traditional way - as a family. Verie’s mom, Kah-Ty-Ah Lawrence Moran, was team-teaching with me for the two weeks of my IslandWood Artist Residency in May of … [Read more...]

Carrying On Traditional Knowledge Through Weaving With Plants

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I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be together with a community of learners at IslandWood. For seventeen years the dedicated people at IslandWood have welcomed and supported my teaching/artist work, helping me learn to share my passion for making art with plant fibers. Anytime in life is the right time to learn new skills, or hone the skills we … [Read more...]

Feb 4, 2018 Workshop at IslandWood

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Gifts From The Landscape Weave a Ribbed Gathering Basket With Melinda West https://islandwood.org/event/gifts-landscape-weaving-ribbed-gathering-basket Sunday, Feb 4th, 9:00-4:00, 2018 At IslandWood Join Melinda West for a day in the Art Studio at IslandWood and learn to transform plant materials from the Pacific Northwest Landscape into … [Read more...]

August 26-27 – Weaving Nature-Plant Fiber Projects Blending Culture, Science & Art

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Each year for the past fifteen, I've had the privilege of spending two intensive weeks teaching the craft of weaving with plant fibers, to young people with wildly diverse backgrounds, between the ages of 8 and 14.  As an Artist in Residence at IslandWood, an environmental education campus on Bainbridge Island, just a ferry ride across the water … [Read more...]

Artist in the Woods Residency at IslandWood

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I am grateful to have been nutured as an artist and communicator through my 15 year relationship with IslandWood.  Each year, while serving as an Artist in Residence, I've met nearly 3,000 wonderful people that have changed my life in some way. Young people that I would have never chanced to meet. Outstanding teachers, scientists, cultural leaders, … [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