Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

  • About
    • Art Resume
    • Artist Statement – Land Acknowledgement
    • Teaching, Exhibits, Projects
  • Galleries
    • Functional Ribbed Work
    • Wall Pieces
    • Woven and Folded Bark
    • Sculptural Blends
    • Community
  • Workshops
  • Weaving Knowledge
    • Workshops
    • My Teachers
    • Resources
  • Blog
  • Contact

Weaving Rattles

June 5, 2012 By Melinda

Woven Rattle

  Make a joyful sound with a rhythm instrument you create yourself using a variety of Pacific Northwest materials, such as driftwood, inner bark, ivy and other vines, roots, grasses and leaves. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Weaving Nature, Workshops Tagged With: catered to age level, class, driftwood, ear anatomy, grasses, instrument, leaves, Music, NW plant materials, Physics of Sound, rattle, rhythm, Rhythms in Nature, sculptural, shaker, Small Plant Fiber Projects, vines, workshop

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

Search the site

Subscribe

Blog Categories

Connect with Melinda

  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Recent Posts

  • 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
  • Here’s What’s Cooking – Porch Paper Making

Popular Blog Topics

art Art in the Woods Studio Tour Artistic Weaving With Western Red Cedar Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network BARN BARN workshops cedar bark Cedar From Tree To Pouch Clam Basket A Story By Ed Carriere class community creative Cultural Arts Foundation NW design early spring Ed Carriere English ivy Fall First Peoples grasses inner cedar bark IslandWood ivy Katie Jennings leaves new work North Cascades Institute NW sweetgrass Pacific Northwest papermaking Paper making Small Plant Fiber Projects spring students summer Suquamish Sydni Sterling Sydni Sterling Studio teaching weaving Weaving With Western Red Cedar Western red cedar winter workshop

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.
Read More
Melinda West and basket, Indianola WA

Copyright © 2025 Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry | Indianola | Washington | USA

Site by LND