Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

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Ready to Weave a Cedar Fan

August 16, 2014 By Melinda

Setting up a Fan framework

It is a delight for me to create an art piece for a specific space in a clients home. After prepping the materials most of yesterday, today I finally got the framework set-up and the weaving started! I'm excited! Click to see finished fan in my gallery. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Cedar Fan, Commission, inner cedar bark, Lopez Wing, Siberian iris pods

Gratitude for Winter Projects

April 26, 2014 By Melinda

Lopez Wing 2014 Melinda West

Spring is here, and like most plant weaving folks I'm in the midst of all the designing, constructing, gathering, and preparing of materials that the season demands. But before I rush off to all the new explorations of materials, and adventures in learning through art-making, I'd like to express my gratitude for the work I was able to complete … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Artwork, News Tagged With: cattail, cedar bark, Lopez Wing, new work, plumb limbs, rush a chair seat, winter, Yew buttons

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Recent Posts

  • Local History – Interview With Barbara Ann Lawrence – Suquamish Tribal Cultural Teacher and Storyteller
  • Porch Papermaking With Food Plants – Cardoon and Kale
  • Paper from the Ditch – Weathered Reed Canary Grass
  • Late Winter Papermaking – Mixing Siberian Iris Leaves and Lichens
  • More Spring Porch Papermaking – With Ivy Leaves

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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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