Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

  • About
    • Art Resume
    • Artist Statement – Land Acknowledgement
    • Teaching, Exhibits, Projects
  • Galleries
    • Functional Ribbed Work
    • Wall Pieces
    • Woven and Folded Bark
    • Sculptural Blends
    • Community
  • Workshops
  • Weaving Knowledge
    • Workshops
    • My Teachers
    • Resources
  • Blog
  • Contact

Warning – Pealing Fig Bark Can Cause a Phototoxic Skin Reaction

October 19, 2011 By Melinda

Last summer our fig trees needed pruning. So these workers pealed the trimmings last July, using metal butter knives and their nimble fingers.

They created some very inventive pouches which smell like the sweetness of figs to this day.

But one word of warning!  After working with the fresh bark, please wash your hands very well and allow the bark to fully dry before any prolonged skin contact.

One of these dear artists made a bracelet and wore it while the bark was fresh. She sustained burns on her skin exactly where the bracelet made contact.

This toxicity was unknown to me, and I was most sorry.
But this didn’t slow down any of these creative folks, and now they are all back in school working on new projects!






Filed Under: News, Plants and Places Tagged With: bark pouches, brown turkey fig bark, burn, caution, fig bark, phototoxic, skin contact, summer, use of fig bark, wash well, wear gloves

Search the site

Subscribe

Blog Categories

Connect with Melinda

  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Recent Posts

  • Art in The Woods Studio Tour – Nov 13, 14, 15, 2026
  • Some old notes on Schoenoplectus Pungens – NW Sweetgrass
  • Harvesting Homegrown Schoenoplectus Pungens
  • Lissa Hunter’s Take Two Online Workshop
  • Ernestine Hayes – “Here We Are Together – Our Only Future Is a Future Together. As Humans.”

Popular Blog Topics

art Art in the Woods Studio Tour Artistic Weaving With Western Red Cedar Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network BARN BARN workshops cedar bark Cedar From Tree To Pouch Clam Basket A Story By Ed Carriere class community creative Cultural Arts Foundation NW design early spring Ed Carriere English ivy Fall First Peoples grasses inner cedar bark IslandWood ivy Katie Jennings new work North Cascades Institute NW sweetgrass Pacific Northwest Paper making papermaking Small Plant Fiber Projects spring students summer Suquamish Sydni Sterling Sydni Sterling painter Sydni Sterling Studio teaching weaving Weaving With Western Red Cedar Western red cedar winter workshop

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.
Read More
Melinda West and basket, Indianola WA

Copyright © 2026 Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry | Indianola | Washington | USA

Site by LND