Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

Harvesting Homegrown Schoenoplectus Pungens

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Hi Friends, For some of you who are learning to grow your own materials for basketmaking, it seems early to me, but I harvested my first pot of basketmakers sweetgrass, Schoenoplectus Pungens, that I grow at home. I live in a canopy of beautiful big conifers. Over the years we’ve emulated “bog” conditions in our sunniest spots, which means … [Read more...]

Small Cedar Baskets

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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...]

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