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.
The project also lead to collaborative work with Dr Jieun Kim at University of Leeds, accumulating in the embroidered picture book, ‘Amazing Blood Ties!’. 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
Workshop Facilitation
Pyramid
2021-Present
DTeam Facilitator
Leeds, UK
Stitch-Up
2018-Present
Freelance Workshop Leader
Leeds, UK
Be Curious
May 2025 & 2026
Workshop Leader – Blood Braids
University of Leeds, UK
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
Weaving Together A Story of Place, 2021-2022
Artist Facilitator
Kirklees, UK
Courtyard Creativities
2013-2020
Session Lead
Leeds, UK
Publications
Embroidery Magazine
March/April 2026
Featured in News section title ‘Vein of Creativity’
Amazing Blood Ties!
Completed September 2025
Illustrator
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’
Collaborations and Exhibitions
RAG: A History of Blood
Feb-Oct 2026
Exhibiting Artist
Physicians Gallery, Edinburgh UK
The Magic Show
July – Sept 2026
Artist facilitator to two Pyramid artists and needle felting workshop delivery
Sunny Bank Mills Gallery, Leeds, UK
For the Love of Textiles: Zine Library
April -June 2026
‘Amazing Blood Ties’ in zine library
Sunny Bank Mills Gallery, Leeds, UK
Pyramid x Leeds Comics Collective Character Collab
November 2025 -Present
Support Artist, Co-curator, Installation, Exhibiting artist
Flamingos Coffee House, Leeds UK
The Joy of Sonic
July 2025-Nov 2025
Support Artist, Co-curator, Installation
Flamingos Coffee House, Leeds UK
Domestic: VR Exhibition
April 2025
Featured Artist
The Animal Artspace Online Exhibition
‘Stand’ing with Flamboyance
March 2025-July 2025
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
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