Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

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Community Programs at IslandWood

March 5, 2015 By Melinda

<img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-3301" src="http://www project collaboration software.melindawest.com/mwwp/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/image11-545x407.jpg" alt="accomplished cedar weaver at IslandWood" width="545" height="407" srcset="https://www.melindawest.com/mwwp/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/image11-545x407.jpg 545w, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Students, Weaving with Cedar, Workshops Tagged With: cedar from Bark to Basket, IslandWood, IslandWood Community Programs, NW sweetgrass, Schoenoplectus pungent palla, students, Weaving With Western Red Cedar, Western red cedar, Woven Cedar Satchel

IslandWood Cedar Class Feb 8, 2015

January 13, 2015 By Melinda

Melinda West, Cedar Vest

I will be teaching a class at IslandWood during their Community Open House. Please click on the link for more information. If the link doesn't work, go to, www.islandWood.org, click on community events, and scroll down to the class announcement. https://islandwood.org/event/cedar-bark-basket  … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Students, Weaving with Cedar, Workshops Tagged With: Cedar weaving, community programs, IslandWood, IW, NW sweetgrass, Small Woven Cedar Basket, Weaving With Western Red Cedar, woven cedar bark

Clam Shell Rattle Necklace

May 22, 2012 By Leslie

Clam Shell Rattle Necklace

Using materials from three important Northwest ecosystems:  forest, shoreline, and estuary, students learn plant fiber technologies to construct a Clam Shell Rattle Necklace.     Using clam shells from the Salish Sea's inter-tidal zone, cedar limbs from the lowland forest, and NW sweetgrass from the estuary, learn plant fiber … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Weaving Nature, Workshops Tagged With: age level, bivalve, cedar limb, clam, class, Environmental Science, exploring, grass, mollusk, Music, nature beads, necklace, netting, NW sweetgrass, rattle, Red Osier Dogwood, Rhythms in Nature, River Willow, Small Plant Fiber Projects, students, weaving, Western red cedar, workshop

The Cedar Experience

May 22, 2012 By Leslie

Woven Cedar Mat Necklace

Participants learn to make either a:  Woven Cedar Mat Necklace, (as you see pictured below at IslandWood), a Woven Cedar Wall Hanging, or a Small Cedar Bark Basket.     The Cedar Experience is a class designed to give learners of any age the opportunity to experience the gifts of Western Red Cedar through the hands, heart, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Weaving with Cedar, Workshops Tagged With: Cedar life cycle, Cedar Satchel, culturally sagnificent tree, NW sweetgrass, preparation of inner cedar bark, replanting cedar trees, Schoenoplectus pungent palla, Small Cedar Bark Basket, Small Cedar Projects, Weaving With Western Red Cedar, Woven Cedar Wall Basket. "Long Life Maker"

Small Cedar Baskets

May 21, 2012 By Leslie

Woven Cedar Bark and Sweetgrass Baskets

Students learn to make small bark baskets using the inner bark of the Western Red Cedar, a tree highly valued by First Peoples cultures of the Pacific Northwest.     Learn why the Western Red Cedar has been referred to as "Long-Life-Maker' by the First Peoples of the Pacific Northwest as you experience the process of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Weaving with Cedar, Workshops Tagged With: age level, base, class, design, freeform, inner cedar bark, Long Life Maker, NW sweetgrass, planting cedar trees, rim, Schoenoplectus pungens palla, sides, small basket, Small Cedar Projects, students, traditional, Twining, weaving, Weaving With Western Red Cedar, Western red cedar, workshop

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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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