Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

Ichi-go ichi-e: IslandWood 2-7-2016

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February 7th, 2016. The sun rises on a sleepy Sunday. Wow, am I happy to see this sunrise! I wonder who are the special people I will meet today? They don't mind missing the Super Bowl to learn cedar weaving! Sometimes an idiom so perfectly describes an experience that it must be remembered. "Ichi-go ichi-e" is an expression in the Japanese … [Read more...]

Community Programs at IslandWood

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<img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-3301" src="http://www project collaboration software.melindawest.com/mwwp/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/image11-545x407.jpg" alt="accomplished cedar weaver at IslandWood" width="545" height="407" srcset="https://www.melindawest.com/mwwp/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/image11-545x407.jpg 545w, … [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