Leigh Bowser
Textile Artist & Educator
Distinction MA Illustration – Falmouth University, 2023
First Class BA (hons) Textile Crafts – Huddersfield University, 2012
Hi, I’m Leigh (pronounced ‘Lee’, pronouns she/they), a Leeds based textile artist and educator. My use of textiles is rooted within the emotional connections we have with cloth, utilising this connection as a vehicle for storytelling and activism.
In 2012, I started ‘The Blood Bag Project’, a craftivist project that aims to raise awareness of the rare blood condition Diamond Blackfan Anaemia, which my young niece, Chloe, was born with.
I am currently working on the the development of a children’s picture book about Chloe’s experience of a stem cell transplant. Through cute characters and embroidered illustrations, I aim to make the potentially scary topic easier to digest, a theme that runs throughout much of my personal textile work.
Get in Touch: LeighBowser@hotmail.com
Current Work
Pyramid
2021-Present
DTeam Facilitator
Leeds, UK
Past Work
My Bloody Valentine
February 2025
Workshop Leader – Anti-Love Leeches
Thackray Museum of Medicine, Leeds UK
Creative Communities, Swarthmore College
2023-2024
Freelance Workshop Leader
Leeds, UK
University of Huddersfield
2017-2022
Part-Time Tutor
Huddersfield, UK
Stitch-Up
2018-2023
Freelance Workshop Leader
Leeds, UK
Weaving Together A Story of Place, 2021-2022
Artist Facilitator
Kirklees, UK
Courtyard Creativities
2013-2020
Session Lead
Leeds, UK
Publications
Stitch Draw: Design and Technique for Figurative Drawing By Rosie James
Batsford Books, 2018
Featured Artist
Embroidery Magazine
March/April 2015
Featured Artist in the article ‘Animal Magic’
Craftivism: The Art of Craft and Activism By Betsy Greer
Arsenal Pulp, 2014
Featured Artist
Strange Material: Storytelling Through Textiles By Leanne Prain
Arsenal Pulp, 2014
Featured Artist
Embroidery Magazine
May/June 2014
Featured Artist in the article ‘Cult of Embroidery’
Past Collaborations and Exhibitions
Domestic: VR Exhibition
April 2025
Featured Artist
The Animal Artspace Online Exhibition
‘Stand’ing with Flamboyance
March 2025-Present
Support Artist, Co-curator, Installation, Exhibiting artist
Flamingos Coffee House, Leeds UK
Blood: Ties and Tensions
February-July 2025
The Blood Bag Project
Thackray Museum of Medicine, Leeds UK
Hematopolitics: Childrens Picture E-Book with Dr Jieun Kim
2024-2025
Illustrator
University of Leeds, UK
Hematopolitics: Blood Bag Workshops
Summer 2024
Workshop Leader
Seoul, South Korea & Kyoto, Japan
Pint of Science: Creative Reactions
May 2023
Collaborative Artist
Nottingham, UK
Dazzling Demons
November 2023
Exhibiting Artist
Phantasmal Online Exhibition
Periods: A Brief Jaunt Up North Workshop Co-Ordinator and Textile Banner Creation
January-April 2022
Thackray Museum of Medicine, Leeds UK
Greggs x Stormzy
January 2020
Embroidery
Blue Plaques of Intangible Experiences
January-July 2019
Workshop Coordinator
Bradford, UK
Jo Malone London Ad Campaign
January-March 2017
Lead Embroiderer for Valentines and Lunar New Year
Worldwide
Leighlalovesyou 
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