Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

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Remembering Fireweed

February 21, 2014 By Melinda

2013 Fireweed on Mt Townsend

We are on the other side of winter where I live along the temperate Salish Sea, in the Pacific Northwest of North America. I'm thinking about the many people in harsh weather conditions today, even while I watch the Annas Hummingbird gathering fluffy anemone seed right out my window, one tiny beakful at a time. The little bird reminds me that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Plants and Places Tagged With: bast fiber, cordage-making, dogbane, Epilobium angustifolium, fireweed, Indian hemp, lap spinning cordage, Margaret Mathewson, nettles, Pacific Northwest, Salish Sea, winter

The Faering is Launched

December 6, 2012 By Melinda

2012 Nov 25, faering on Puget Sound

In 2009-2010 our eldest son, Spencer West, had the privilege of working with a team of excellent wood carvers who were gathered at Duane and Betty Pasco's to carve the Raven Canoe.  This canoe was being created for a Canoe family to be paddled on the Canoe Journey to Neah Bay.  The first of these canoe journeys, in recent times, was held in 1989 at … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, News Tagged With: ancient, Betty Pasco, canoe, community, Duane Pasco, faering, four oar boat, gokstad viking boat, grateful, Mt Rainier, Mt Tahoma, Raven canoe, Salish Sea, Spencer West, viking

The Suquamish Basket Marsh

June 14, 2012 By Melinda

Suquamish Basket Marsh, 6-10-11

It's been over a decade now since the conception and development of the Suquamish Basket Marsh.  This outdoor classroom for environmental learning on the grounds of Suquamish Elementary School, in the town of Suquamish Washington, is a product of an ongoing collaboration between the school, teachers, students, parents; volunteers from the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Students, Weaving Nature, Workshops Tagged With: cedar limbs, clam shell rattle, drainage catchment area, Elementary students, environmental classroom, fiber technology, Gelk'ali, impermeable surfaces, Jan Jackson, librarian, library, Lushootseed, manilla clams, native plants, nature, Pond Kids, Puget Sound, relationship, Salish, Salish Sea, salmon, Small Plant Fiber Projects, stewards, storm water run-off, Suquamish, Suquamish Basket Marsh

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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

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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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