Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

A New Years Greeting

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Welcome to 2014. I have so much to be grateful for. Family, friends, health, a warm home, good food from our garden, and an occupation that I love. Weaving with plants, being outside close to the birds and the bugs, building and creating whatever comes to mind, gosh, this sounds a bit like a childhood dream! For now this dreamer is content to get … [Read more...]

Farewell to 2012

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I ponder upon this past circle of seasons, trembling with gratitude for family, friends, and community, who contribute everyday to my development as human being and an artist. "The community stagnates without the impluse of the individual...the impulse dies away without the sympathy of the community."  William James My take on this is:  The … [Read more...]

Greetings in 2012

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I'm taking baby-steps to learn how to use this web-site.  I hope you'll be patient and check back now and again.  Early spring is upon us here in the Pacific Northwest.  The tiniest hazelnut blooms are appearing as their beautiful catkins dangle prominently below the blossoms.  I know it's cool and moist here, and can be quite gray, but January is … [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