Louie

On my way to my monthly Guild meeting, the ferry ride was quietly surrounded by a fog that settled low over the water. It was eerie, because the fog was only there - once you drove up the hill from the ferry landing, it was clear.

And by the time I got to the meeting in Shoreline, the day was getting warmer and warmer. The garden at the museum where we meet is spectacular at this time of year - the color combinations are awesome, as evidenced by this grouping of tulips and huerchera.

At the meeting, Melinda West gave a talk about her background and projects. She is very involved with teaching children about nature - "Bird Nests and Backyard Baskets - Weaving Lessons from the Earth with Children" is the name of her talk. She is a fantastic artist, working with natural and recycled materials, and as you can see in the photo, she has developed a lot of fun projects for children of all ages to experience natural basket weaving. She feels that "basket weaving engages all the senses, with textures, rhythm of patterns, gentle earth tones, and the fragrance of materials once alive and growing. It is gratifying to know that the life of the plants I use, and some of the stories they hold, can continue to live in my basketry and in my students."

She also brought with her one of the Guild's founding members, Ed Carriere, an elder of the Suquamish Tribe. They both live on the Olympic Peninsula, so traveled here together. He is her, as well as many others', mentor, and still practices many First People's traditional methods of harvesting and working with cedar and other natural materials. He's wearing a cedar headband in this photo with Karen Samdahl.