Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

One Year Ago – Catching Up – IslandWood Artist Residency

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Greetings! I’ve been working this year, but I haven’t kept up with my blog entries about the wonderful students I’ve been fortunate to meet and interesting work I’ve had the pleasure of doing this past circle of seasons.  So here is a little pictorial of last May at IslandWood, during my 16th Artist Residency there. I spend two weeks each year … [Read more...]

Lessons of the Cedar Tree

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This May as an Artist in Residence at IslandWood, I enjoyed sharing my appreciation of the Western Red Cedar tree with many students from the area. Young people ranging from fourth through sixth grades came from North Beach Elementary, Emerson K-12,The Evergreen School, Emerson Elementary, Adams Elementary, and The Brighton School. During their … [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