Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

Artist in Residence at IslandWood

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  This March I was delighted to spend two weeks as an Artist in Residence at IslandWood, a 'School in the Woods' on Bainbridge Island, just a ferry ride away from the city of Seattle.  I worked with competent, considerate  5th graders from Aberdeen, Bremerton, and Mercer Island; and junior-high/high school age students from Seattle and … [Read more...]

Weaving Rattles

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  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...]

Clam Shell Rattle Necklace

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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...]

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