Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

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Spring is Here!

April 16, 2012 By Melinda

My grand-daughter Calla helps me gather cedar

  The Salmonberry blossoms tell me that the sap is up in the Western red cedar trees nearby. If I am very lucky, and someone knows how precious this resource is to a cedar bark weaver, I might just be able to gather a special piece of bark like this one. In this case, Christine, of Ollala, was kind enough to postpone cutting down a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Plants and Places Tagged With: Canoe Bailer Style Vessels, folded bark pouch, salmonberry, sap rising, spring, tree sap, Western red cedar

Western Red Cedar

April 12, 2012 By Melinda

Gifts of the Pacific Northwest Forests

The forest is a special place, and each plant has it's own story. Once tall, thick forests covered the land surrounding the Salish Sea, or Puget Sound, region. Since about five-thousand years ago, among these tall conifers, there is a pollen record of the existence of the Western Red Cedar.  This slow-growing, water and shade-loving plant, became … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Plants and Places Tagged With: baskets, canoes, clothing, culturally sagnificent tree, First Peoples, forest, Long Life Maker, sap rising, shelter, spring, Western red cedar, Wild Rose

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Recent Posts

  • Bare Bones Abstracts
  • A Space to Work and Meet
  • Cedar Bark – Useful and Beautiful
  • October 2020 London Craft Week at J&M Davidson
  • Land Acknowledgement 2020

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About Melinda

Thirty 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. The experience of weaving with the materials at hand while being together with my sons on a beautiful Pacific Northwest shoreline, kindled a passion for creating art from natural plant materials. 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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