Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

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A New Years Greeting

January 28, 2014 By Melinda

A New Years Dawn in Indianola 2014

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...]

Filed Under: Plants and Places Tagged With: art, cousins, craft, culture, First Peoples, kvaeoy, new year, Norway, Pacific Northwest, Sami, teaching, winter

Welcome to 2013

December 31, 2012 By Melinda

Welcome 2013

Happy new year to you all.   … [Read more...]

Filed Under: News Tagged With: new year, welcome, winter

Farewell to 2012

December 31, 2012 By Melinda

2012-12-31 Farewell 2012

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...]

Filed Under: News Tagged With: greetings, new work, new year, winter

Greetings in 2012

February 20, 2012 By Melinda

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...]

Filed Under: News Tagged With: eagles, gratitude, greetings, new work, new year, winter

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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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