This week I heard that Ruins 9 Cottonopolis Revisited will be going to a new home after my solo exhibition at Salford Museum and Art Gallery ends on 5th May. Which is wonderful news although I will miss it. I make art for a couple of reasons; to get ideas and feelings out of my head and into a physical form and for the results to be seen, and hopefully appreciated, by others. Selling my art is a lovely bonus. An affirmation. That I am an Artist with a capital A. It banishes the doubts, the imposter syndrome moments. And makes me more determined than ever to reorganise my life so that I can make more art!

So, despite having a very long list of stuff that needs doing before my teaching season begins next weekend, I decided to treat myself. Initially I treated myself to a rather delicious custard slice. And then I gave myself the precious gift of time. Three days focused on making. Which doesn’t sound a lot but I hadn’t scheduled any ‘art time’ until mid-October. Too early to share images but I had a deeply satisfying time printing fabric and thinking about new constructions.

And now it is back to that schedule …. screens to varnish, fabric to soda soak, notes to be checked and distributed, requirements lists to be written, studio to be cleaned. This will be the last year that I will teach here in my studio in Manchester before we relocate and downsize (thus enabling me to spend more time making art!). Its shaping up to be a wonderfully busy one with the majority of classes either full or close to full.

The next four workshops each have one place left on them. I’m teaching my two-day Simply Screen Printing workshop (6th and 7th April) next weekend immediately followed by my, more comprehensive five-day Simply Screen Printing (8th to 12th April). There is then a break due to an extended holiday in Ireland before my five day Breakdown Your Palette workshop (13th to 17th May). And finally there is one place left on Clare Bullock’s Versatility of Felt workshop (20th to 24th May).

The year is going to fly by!

Detail from fabric printed using a reusable drawn and distressed washable PVA glue resist screen.

I’m dancing a happy dance here in the studio as my new online workshop ‘Simply Screen Printing’ is now ready. Based on the book and the in-person 5 day workshop of the same name, the online workshop contains approx. 25 hours of video plus detailed notes and support from me via monthly Zoom meetings, a private Facebook group and email. The notes are an edited version of my book so contain different examples to those featured on the videos. The cost is £300 for 12 months access. If you go to the preview page you can watch a ‘Welcome’ video in which I share an outline of the workshop. You can also watch a sample lesson to get a sense of what the videos look like and how I teach.

I am offering an EARLY BIRD SPECIAL with up to 2 months extra access. If you sign up in March or April your membership will run until the end of April 2025. Why …. well because I’m a nice person and well, I still have some videos to edit and upload. 80% of the content is available today and the rest will be in place by the end of March. I’ll notify you as the final units are ready.

I have also added two new items to my shop for those of you who will be setting up for screen printing for the first time. The Basic Kit contains a 12 x 14inch screen, a 9inch Speedball squeegee, 300g Soda Ash, 400g Urea, 150g Manutex RS and four 50g Procion MX dyes (in acid lemon, magenta, turquoise and dark brown) at a 10% discount on the usual price. I also throw in a free tile grouter! The Deluxe Kit contains two screens, one Speedball squeegee, 2 x soda, 2 x urea, 2 x Manutex RS and ten 50g dyes (acid lemon, golden yellow, magenta, scarlet, turquoise, royal blue, black, dark brown, petrol green and rust brown). Again at a 10% discount with 2 free tile grouters.

I am blessed to be able to earn my living working in my studio doing the things I love doing. It is a good life. But not everyone has things so easy. And so I will be donating £10 for each workshop sold in March and April to The Trussell Trust, an organisation that supports food banks across the UK and campaigns for an end to food poverty.

Phew! I might go have a little lie down now! x

I’ve just arrived home from my annual artists retreat with twelve textile artists and friends in Grasmere. As always the company was funny, supportive and all round wonderful and the location, in the Lake District, beautiful. And as usual it did me the power of good and recharged my creative batteries.

We all work on our own projects and I took three pieces of printed fabric to add stitch to. Despite an emergency dash home to collect my spare machine when I managed to jam a needle in my sewing machine, I completed all three pieces.

The pieces are from my upcoming online workshop Simply Screen Printing and needed stitch that enhanced the printed marks and lines rather than distracted from them so I kept it simple. The photo above (detail) shows simply curvy lines added fabric that had been printed with a loose paper resist intially then over printed using a breakdown screen. The photo below (detail) shows simple straight lines added to a piece that had been printed using a loose net resist. I also sewed around the circles which really helps them ‘pop’.

And finally, the photo below (detail) shows a simple grid of blue and light brown lines added to a densely patterned piece of breakdown printed fabric. If I have time to add facings and finish these little quilts I will take them to The Scottish Quilt Show in Glasgow on 7th to 9th March.

Simply Screen Printing will be available from this Friday 1st March. Featuring 25 hours of video and detailed notes , it will cost £300 for 12 months access which means that students can work at their own pace knowing that they have support from me via monthly Zoom meetings, a private Facebook group and email. More details to follow, so watch this space!!

A little bit of Hollywood is visiting Urban Studio North! Filming for IMAX 70, in Dolby surround sound, with an Oscar nominated screenplay, audacious multi-million $ action stunts (eat your heart out Tom Cruise) and a cast of thousands ……

OK, so it’s a cast on one. Screenplay, what screenplay? And the most audacious action sequence was me dropping my screen part way through printing some fabric. Although the not-quite-Dolby sound system did do a pretty good job of capturing my swearing. Hmmm………..

Yes I am busy filming Simply Screen Printing. Just me, two static cameras and some reasonable priced editing software. I was originally going to include a dance sequence with Ryan Gosling but he didn’t turn up for rehearsals. Instead there will be a feast of beautifully screen printed fabrics and hours of detailed instruction on how to screen print at home. The workshop will be available from 1st March but, for now I thought I’d share what I think is my favourite piece of fabric printed in the workshop. Can you guess how I printed it?

At long last I have started working again on an online version of my Simply Screen Printing 5 day workshop and book. I started last May with the hope of getting it done for Christmas but then a couple of small things got in the way…. Festival of Quilts and the solo exhibition. OK, maybe not small things. I’ll share lots more detail (and photos) over the coming weeks but I thought I might tease you with detail from one of the fabrics I’ve printed this week. It is intentionally pale and delicate. The first layer of print was created using a loose paper resist and the second layer was printed using an embedded object breakdown printing screen. Not my ‘usual’ colours but I have rather fallen in love with this piece and will be adding stitch to it during my annual retreat in the Lake District later this month. Calamities aside I intend launching the new online workshop on 1st March.

I’ve also been getting organised for a childrens workshop that I will be running at Salford Museum and Art Gallery on Sunday 25th February. Bit outside my comfort zone but it is good to give back to the staff at the museum who have done such a fabulous job hosting my exhibition. Although I might need to lie down in a dark room for a while having spent the afternoon with 30 children using textile inks and acrylic stamps to decorate aprons and bags! You can find more details here.

And just to stop me getting bored, I am also getting ready for The Scottish Quilt Show at the SEC in Glasgow from 7th to 9th March. You can find details of the show here. I only do a couple of shows a year and this one is actually my favourite. Yes Festival of Quilts is the big earner but it is just so busy and frantic that I never have time to really chat to people let alone visit the galleries. Whereas in Glasgow I get to chat and have a walk round. I also get to see my daughter who lives in Glasgow which is a bonus! So if you plan on visiting the show please stop by! Now I just need to print about 50 metres of fabric …..

I’m delighted (and somewhat relieved) that 2024 workshop sales are going well as I know that a workshop isn’t cheap especially if you have to travel and book accommodation. I really appreciate your support.

I have places left on two of my guest tutor workshops. Amanda J Clayton is a highly recommended tutor. Her workshop ‘Quietly Composed’ is aimed at those artists, embroiderers’ and textile specialists in particular, who wish to explore observational starting points and develop personal ideas through cloth and hand stitch.

‘Enjoy the calming nature of hand stitch whilst absorbing the serendipity of composition. With a pared down palette of neutrals you will explore the techniques of cutwork, darning, applique, layering and inlay using transparent qualities as well as your favourite cloth qualities. You will work towards developing an individual series of work from your own visual language.’ 

Images of her signature inlay technique can be seen above along with items that might provide inspiration during the workshop. The four day workshop runs from the 9th to 12th September and there are two places left. You can find out much more here.

I also have one place left on Clare Bullock’s Versatility of Felt five day workshop. Clare is an incredibly generous and inspiring teacher and during this workshop you will study a different technique each day. By the end of the five days you will have firm knowledge in felt making, a selection of samples and written instructions to guide you on your felting journey.

‘Felt making is like marmite, you either love it or you hate it. This 5 day workshop is designed to make you fall in love with it. Felt is a very versatile fabric, you can make almost anything from it. Clares’ by-line is "If you can think it you can felt it". You are only limited by your imagination’.

Examples of her beautiful pods can be seen below. The five day workshop runs from 20th to 24th May and you can find out much more here.

My new workshop, Luscious Layers, sold out really quickly so I have just added new dates to the website - the extra workshop will run from Monday 23rd to Friday 27th September next year. I’m really looking forward to this one as we will work with multiple surface design techniques to create layered, complex beautiful art cloth. You can find out more here.

I’ve also added an extra Breakdown Your Palette workshop from Monday 12th to Friday 16th August next year. This is my most popular workshop and I love it! Breakdown printing is my favourite technique and the basis for most of my art. You can find out more here.

In other news I’m still stitching like a woman possessed …. 30 days until I need to drop off the art for my upcoming exhibition. Blimey …..

Printed using a screen made with a washable PVA glue resist.

Taking a quick break from quilting ….. I have one place left on my five day Simply Screen Printing - The Full Monty workshop on Monday 2nd to Friday 6th October. I’m offering it at a 20% discount so £360 instead of £450. You can find out more about the workshop here. The workshop is suitable for beginners and for those you want to add more screen printing techniques to their tool kit. Please email me if you have questions.

Looking forward to 2024, I only have one place left on my new workshop Luscious Layers running from Monday 3rd to 7th June 2024. This workshop isn’t suitable for beginners as it assumes a basic knowledge of screen printing and other ‘wet process’ techniques. I’m really looking forward to teaching this workshop as it is all about adding multiple layers of colour, mark, texture, line and shape to fabric to create beautiful, complex art cloth. You can find out more here.

And if you’ve been thinking about doing my Breakdown Your Palette workshop the only places left are on the workshop running from Monday 1st to Friday 5th July 2024. You can find out more here.

And now for the bad news …. unfortunately I’ve had to put up the price of my screens by an average of 19% (actual increase depends on the size of screen). I could probably source cheaper screens from outside the UK but I prefer to continue to buy from the small family company that I’ve been using for years. That said, a well looked after screen will last for years and years.

Now, back to quilting ….

Festival of Quilts starts on Thursday and I am (nearly) ready! I’ve got a bigger stand this year, B50 in Hall 9 (if you stand with your back to the theatre entrance you should be able to see it). We had a great show last year but it was exhausting with just me and best buddy, Ruth, so this year we are going to be joined by my son Joe. Some of you will know him as he’s done shows with me in the past. I’m hoping this gives me a little more time to chat to old friends, meet new friends and possibly look at some of the wonderful galleries. If you don’t have a ticket yet please use the code LEAHHIGGINS23 to get a £2 discount. If you’re at the show please come and say hello!

As well as promoting next years workshops I’m hoping to get some sign-ups to my last 2023 workshop - Simply Screen Printing (the Full Monty) which runs from 2nd to 6th October. I will be offering the workshop at a 20% discount during the show and, because not everyone can make the show, I’m offering it at a 20% discount online from the 1st to 31st August - just use the discount code SSP5DAYDISCOUNT. The workshop normally costs £450 so you’ll save £90.

I will be taking lots of my hand printed and dyed fabric packs (112 Wonky Print + 35 Absolutely Hand Dyed). I’ll have lots of copies of my latest book, Simply Screen Printing along with my book on translating colour theory into colour practice, Colour Your Palette. I will also be taking all the remaining copies of my Breakdown Your Palette book to the show. I only have about 30 left. I’m not going to reprint the book as I’m planning to write a new version either next year or the year after, so once they’re gone they’re gone! (The digital version of the book will still be available). And I’ll be taking Procion dyes, soda etc, screen and squeegees. In fact, I will be taking as much stuff as I can physically get into mine and Joes cars!

And finally, both myself and Ruth will be demonstrating in The Creative Textile Studio which can be found to the left of the theatre. Ruth will be demonstrating different book binding techniques all day Friday, Saturday morning and Sunday morning. I’ll be demonstrating simple screen printing techniques on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. I’ll be demonstrating on my stand as well. Phew, I need a lie down and we’ve not even set off yet!