Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

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Cedar-Tree To Pouch

June 8, 2015 By Melinda

I am grateful to my friend and neighbor, Suquamish elder, Ed Carriere, for teaching me how to make folded bark pouches, and for giving me his blessing to teach this class!  If Ed weren't so busy teaching for the Burke Museum, researching and making replicas of 2000 year old baskets, and having others documenting his life for publication and in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Students, Weaving with Cedar, Workshops Tagged With: Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network, BARN, berry picking pouche, Cedar From Tree To Pouch, Folded and Sewn Pouch, gathering cedar bark, quiver, respectful gathering, students, Weaving With Western Red Cedar

Cedars Become Teachers

June 5, 2015 By Melinda

I want to thank Leslie Newman and Tim Celeski for sharing three young Western Red Cedar trees with me so I can share the wonderful attributes of this tree tomorrow with some extra special students at Bainbridge Artisans Resource Networks' interim space, in Rolling Bay Washington.  I especially want to thank my sweetheart and right-hand man, Paul … [Read more...]

Filed Under: My Teachers, Weaving with Cedar, Workshops Tagged With: BARN, berry picking, cedar, Cedar From Tree To Pouch, Folded Bark Pouches, Leslie Newman, teacher, Tim Celeski, WeavBainbridge Artisan Resource Network, Weaving With Western Red Cedar

Cedar Workshop June 6, 2015

May 12, 2015 By Melinda

Cedar Bark Pouch

June 6, 2015, I'll be teaching a workshop at the Rolling Barn, in Rolling Bay Washington.  I'll be bringing in a freshly cut Western Red Cedar tree so students can learn from the tree to the finishing, how to make a folded cedar bark pouch.  The class size is limited so every person will get plenty of individualized attention. There will be enough … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Students, Weaving with Cedar, Workshops Tagged With: Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network, BARN, Cedar From Tree To Pouch, spring, students, Weaving With Western Red Cedar, Western red cedar, workshop

Weaving With Western Red Cedar

May 11, 2015 By Melinda

It was a lovely week at IslandWood this May, with every kind of weather. Warm and sunny, then cool winds with dramatic clouds and thunder, torrential spurts of showers, and back again to warm slightly humid air, scented with the fragrance of everything living.   I brought a simple project for both the graduate students professional … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Students, Weaving Nature, Workshops Tagged With: cordage, Eagle Rock Multi-Age School, inner cedar bark, Island Wood, Professional development, sap is up, spring, students, The Evergreen School, The Valley School, Weaving With Western Red Cedar, Western red cedar, wild rose blooms, Woodenville Montessori, woven Cedar Bark Mat Wall-Hanging

IslandWood Artist in Residence

March 25, 2015 By Melinda

  IslandWood is an environmental learning center located on Bainbridge Island. For most students it is a westward trip from Seattle across the water on a Washington State Ferry. One of the highlights of my year, aside from spending time with my own grandkids, is being able to share the passion I have for weaving with plant-fibers with … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Students, Weaving Nature, Workshops Tagged With: AIR, cedar bark mat wall hanging, cedar inner bark, Dearborn Park International School, Dunlap Elementary, IslandWood Artist in Residence, Small Plant Fiber Projects, students, weaving with cedar bark, Weaving With Western Red Cedar, Wellington Elementary, Western red cedar

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Recent Posts

  • Spring – It’s on the Way
  • Water Is Life – A Song Worth Hearing
  • Suquamish Elder Ed Carriere is a 2023 National Heritage Fellow
  • Our Sacred Obligation – A Story Worth Spreading
  • Basketry Program at BARN-Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network

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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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