Meet a Member: Leah Higgins

How and when did you get into quilting?

I made my first quilt in 1986. I had no idea what I was doing and it was truly hideous. Ten years later, with the help of a Singer book on patchwork and quilting, I made my second quilt and was hooked! Initially I followed patterns in books and magazines to make bed quilts but soon wanted to ‘do my own thing’.

I completed my City & Guilds Certificate and Diploma and attended some fabulous workshops in the Committed to Cloth studio, learning how to dye and print fabric and how to work from my own ideas. This was a gradual process over a 15-year period, culminating in 2014/15 when I developed my ‘Ruins’ series and finally had the courage to call myself a textile artist (who just happens to make patchwork quilts).

Where do you find inspiration?

My large abstract quilts are inspired by the buildings and industrial structures that shape the urban landscape around my home in Salford. I focus on those industries and industrial buildings that no longer exist as well as those whose buildings have been repurposed and still exist today. More recently the process of ‘making’ has become a source of inspiration. I have found that the physical processes of printing, cutting and stitching bring comfort and a renewed sense of purpose.

What are your favourite techniques and materials?

I absolutely love a screen-printing process called breakdown printing where thickened Procion dyes are used as a temporary resist on the screen, a resist that breaks down as the screen is used over and over again. This results in beautiful, dense, organic marks that are impossible to create using any other technique. Having created a collection of my own printed and sometimes dyed fabrics, I use very simple patchwork and quilting techniques to bring my fabrics together. I’m a big fan of the ‘stitch and flip’ method for constructing my large quilts as this provides a very stable base for quilting. I then complete my work with lots of closely spaced straight-line machine quilting – again this is simple but effective. I mostly use a medium-weight cotton poplin but have recently been working with a lovely linen cotton blend with a slightly open weave that adds interesting texture to my printed fabrics. My favourite threads are Madeira Cotona 30 weight or hand-dyed cotton threads from Oliver Twists.

Are there any artists (quilting or otherwise) who you particularly admire?

A difficult question because there are so many amazing textile artists. Those who inspired me to develop my ideas and to create art quilts include Claire Benn, Leslie Morgan, Pauline Burbidge, Michelle Walker, Charlotte Yde, Jette Clover, Sara Impey and so many more. More recently I’m moved by the works of Linda Colsh and Wen Redmond who incorporate image transfer and digitally printed fabrics in their work.

What is your proudest moment?

My proudest moment was when ‘Ruins 1’ was shortlisted in the Fine Arts Textile Award in 2015. This was the first time my work was exhibited alongside the work of so many ‘legends’ in the textile and art quilt world. It was an affirmation that my work was moving in the right direction and that I wasn’t ‘daft’ in thinking that I could become an artist.

Leah’s second solo exhibition, ‘Beneath Our Feet’, is at Salford Museum and Art Gallery from 16 December 2023 to 14 April 2024. Find out more about Leah and the process of planning and preparing for an exhibition in issue 177 of The Quilter (Winter 2023).

www.leahhiggins.co.uk