For local customers, Cathy will bring the piece to your home to see how it fits prior to buying!
For local customers, Cathy will bring the piece to your home to see how it fits prior to buying!
"Once I began my journey into leather, I knew my childhood love of animals would somehow be expressed. By giving myself the time and freedom to explore creating with leather, I rediscovered my love for life and my passion for expressing my inner spirit."
- Cathy Wiggins
Cathy Wiggins is a self-taught leather artist, using a variety of leatherworking techniques in each of her pieces. She uses several different hides in her art, including cow, rattlesnake, python, hair-on hides, deer and lamb, often mixing them with natural elements like driftwood and antlers.
Born and raised in Greenville, NC, Cathy now resides on Lake Gaston outside of Macon, NC. She double majored in Mathematics and Engineering at ECU, and worked in the telecommunications field for over 20 years before retiring to become a full-time artist in 2003.
She spent over 15 years in the quilting industry as a competitor, teacher, and vendor, pioneering the art of quilting on leather. Cathy has several published books on her techniques, has been featured in quilting magazines, and has been featured numerous quilting television shows. She has had multiple solo exhibitions of her quilts throughout the country.
Since 2018, Cathy has shifted her focus from quilting to mastering multiple leatherworking techniques. She now uses many different techniques to create her unique and signature style that she is known for today. Using molding techniques, dyes, and paints, she likes to manipulate leather to look like metal, ceramics, or rice paper. “It’s so cool to hear people say, ‘Wow! That’s really leather?’ when they see one of my pieces,” says Cathy, “I love being able to show others all of the different things you can do with leather that they may not have thought of before.” Her latest focus has been on pioneering the art of forming rawhide to create vessels, wall art, lamps and more. Cathy has written a book on her leather quilting, Quilted Leather, and is contracted to write two follow-up books on her home décor. She was the cover artist for the July 2019 edition of Leather Crafters and Saddlers Journal. Her leather artwork can be found in museums and private collections nationwide.
