Artist Toolkit

We are thrilled to be able to welcome you to the Hop to it! Suffolk 2025 artist team!

With over 300 submissions from across the UK we would like to send you our huge congratulations on getting to this stage.

Your unique hare design will be one of 50 hare sculptures on display across Ipswich’s streets, parks and public spaces or, new for 2025, one of our satellite locations; Felixstowe, Woodbridge, Lowestoft and Beccles. These hares will be joined by 65 leverets designed by schools and youth groups as part of the Hopscotch Learning & Community Programme.

Timeline Decorating the hare About the hares – Specs Dos & Don'ts Marketing guidelines Additional information Downloads Terms & conditions

At the end of the trail, all the professionally painted hare sculptures will be auctioned off to raise significant funds for St Elizabeth Hospice. Last year we provided care and support to over 4,000 patients living with life-limiting and progressive illness and their families in East and Mid-Suffolk and Great Yarmouth and Waveney. It costs around £12 million to run our services each year with just 30% coming from statutory sources. So, your involvement is very important to us.

In this pack you will find lots of helpful information and how to work with your hare. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me or a member of the team.

Thank you again for being part of this incredibly special project – we hope that you are excited to get started!

Decorating the hare

To paint your hare sculpture, we recommend you use:

A good quality artists’ acrylic water-based paint e.g. Liquitex, System 3, Americana
Quality brand emulsion paint for larger areas e.g. Dulux, Crown, Valspar
Acrylic metallic or pearlescent paints e.g. Robersons
Spray paints e.g. Montana, Kobra
Acrylic Pens for applying detail; these are water-based acrylic paint markers, brands e.g. Posca, Edding Acrylics, Molotow and Sukura Pen Touch

DO NOT APPLY:

Poster paints
Watercolours
Oil paints or Gouache
Felt-tip pens, solvent based permanent markers, white board pens or any other solvent-based markers such as Sharpies, Edding ink or non-acrylic fine liner pens. (Anything solvent based is extremely volatileand can react, run or bleed when varnish is applied)

Cautionary note: Don’t mix layers of paints with different bases, unless you have experience of these mediums as these may react either against each other, or with the final coat of varnish.

We recommend either testing or asking us before using anything other than water-based acrylic, good quality spray or emulsion paint. We can source small samples of the fibre-glass if you need to test a new product, please just ask the art coordinator.

Problem Posca Pen Colours

Wild in Art strongly advise to avoid using two Posca pen colours ‘Slate Grey’ and ‘Blue’ – which apply and dry as expected but run and bleed when the varnish coat is applied. Please avoid using these.

Metallic Paints and effects

Does your design have a metallic effect and finish? Important! Please first check with our art coordinator to discuss your paint products before you begin.

The following are products Wild in Art artists have recommended:

RUST-OLEUM AMZ0006 Metallic Brush Paint, Gold
Sukura Pen Touch
Robersons liquid metal
Kobra Gold Spray

Top tip: If you paint a yellow ochre colour underneath first then you won’t have to use as many coats of the gold, maybe two or three coats.

No need to varnish!

We have partnered with a local Ford car dealership, John Grose who are kindly varnishing all our professionally painted sculptures for the trail.

Once completed and delivered back to the Hop to it! team, your sculpture will first go directly to the car repair workshop to be professionally spray varnished.

For the workshop to facilitate all 50 sculptures we will look to stagger artists completion dates. We will be in touch with you to establish a workable timeframe.

All sculptures need to be completed before Friday 21 March 2025.

Painting in your own studio:

If you prefer to paint in your own home or studio, please check the sculpture dimensions first to ensure the sculpture will fit in your space. We can only deliver to downstairs locations.

You are responsible for ensuring that your sculpture is well wrapped and protected for its commute back to us.

Please keep us up to date on your progress with estimated completion dates where possible. All sculptures must be returned to us by Friday 21 March 2025.

If you would prefer to work from within your own studio space, please contact art coordinator Abby Muhs-Brown.

Completing your design & amendments

Once you have completed painting, please ensure you email an image of your finished artwork to: hoptoit@stelizabethhospice.org.uk

All artworks must be approved and signed off by the Hop to it! team before collection.

If your sponsor suggests any minor tweaks or design changes, please ensure you agree this with the Hop to it! team before you start. All amendments must be agreed before you start.

Please read the artist agreement terms and conditions in detail or contact us for further information.

Delivery/Collection

The Hop to it! team can arrange delivery and collection of sculptures within East Anglia. We will consider locations further afield if feasible and will contact you to discuss local delivery and collection dates. Hop to it! delivery and collection costs will be capped at £50 each way and deducted from your final payment.

To maximise efficiency and minimise costs we will be planning multiple collections on the same journey. As a result, it is likely that your collection won’t be scheduled until near the end of the painting period, regardless of earlier completion.

For artists located outside this area, please speak to the team to discuss delivery and collection options. If we are unable to help, artists are required to arrange delivery and collection via courier service. Please contact the artist coordinator to discuss arrangements. Costs are the responsibility of the artist. We will assist where possible to minimise any delivery costs.

About the hares

The Hare is manufactured using a mixture of class II retardant laminating resin and chopped, roving fiberglass over an initial brushed-on layer of polyester gel coat. It is finished with a primer and is ready to paint. Before you begin, we recommend that you:

Unwrap the sculpture and check it over – we suggest a light sand to key the surface and then washing the sculpture down with a water/sugar soap wash to remove any lite-debris, dust, hand oils etc. prior to painting.

Some small blemishes, scuffs and cracks may be visible in the primer and some small chips may have occurred in transportation but, in most instances, these are removable with a light sand and reprime.

Please report any major damage ASAP to our art coordinator as larger chips may need to be filled with a plastic filler e.g. Isopon easy sand (directions can be given) or structural repairs may need to be made by a suitably experienced person.

Even though every sculpture comes pre-primed with a white matt finish, some artists like to prepare their sculpture with an initial undercoat. This is a personal choice, but if you do decide to, we recommend using a good quality primer spray, we often use Pro-Cote, which can be sourced from the likes of Tool Station.

Alternatively, you could use a light base of a good quality branded matt white emulsion paint, such as Dulux, Valspar, Crown etc.

Try not to build up too thick of a coat, perhaps applying lightly with a sponge roller and ensure this is absolutely dry before additional layers of paint are added.

For spray artwork a good spray ‘graffiti’ primer can be used for better adherence of the artwork.(e.g. Montana Spray Primer). Avoid using graphite pencils for marking out designs as these can smudge easily and leave dirty marks or be clearly visible under lighter coloured paints. As an alternative you can use chalk pencils or light blue/white colouring pencils. Not only will these not smudge, but mistakes can usually be wiped off with a damp cloth.

Dos & Don’ts

DO

Do unwrap your sculpture upon delivery, check it over and report any damage immediately.
Do go over your sculpture with a fine grade sandpaper, followed by a wipe over with a solution of warm water and a small amount of mild detergent (washing up liquid). The sanding gives a key to the surface prior to painting. N.B. Please wear a dust mask whilst sanding.
Do use water-based acrylics or emulsion paints. Brands listed above.
Do use Posca Pens for applying detail. These are water-based acrylic paint markers.
Do fix any 3D elements securely. Consider carefully if they will withstand the demands of being on public display for ten or more weeks.
Do make sure that 3D elements don’t present a hazard i.e. there are no sharp protruding elements or can be tripped over.

DON’T

Don’t use poster paints on your sculpture.
Don’t apply watercolour or oil paints to your sculpture.
Don’t mix layers of paints with different bases as these will react either against each other, or with the final coat of varnish.
Don’t use felt-tip pens, permanent pens or any other solvent-based markers such as Sharpies.
Don’t hesitate to either test or ask us before using anything other than water-based acrylic or emulsion paint.

Marketing Guidelines

We would love you to promote your involvement in Hop to it! Suffolk 2025 and with so many partners involved it is essential that artists comply with our marketing and PR protocols to keep communications as simple as possible and to avoid clashes of activity.

We would like to retain an element of surprise when the sculptures are revealed so we are therefore embargoing any posts which show or give away your full Hop to it! design, until the trail is live on 21 June 2025.

Please feel free to share your images on your own social media pages, but please ensure you don’t share anything which alludes to the completed design, and make sure you tag our channels in your post.

Please only release/post elements of your design taking shape or sections of your design as ‘work in progress’.

Please don’t reveal the full finished sculpture until Hop to it! Suffolk 2025 trail goes live.

Please feel free to link to our website: www.stelizabethhospice.org.uk/hoptoitsuffolk from your website. You could include it as a news story on your homepage.
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on X (formerly twitter)
Follow us on Instagram
Promote Hop to it! Suffolk 2025 on your social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, newsletters etc).
Provide regular content for our social media channels and newsletters – please let us know about any opportunities.
Spread the word about Hop to it! Suffolk 2025 to your contacts and clients.

Photography

Please forward any work in progress photographs taken to hoptoit@stelizabethhospice.org.uk so that they can be included in the ‘media bank’ for general use.

Any people included in photo opportunities must give permission for the images to be used for promotional purposes. If children or young people are included parental permissions must be secured. It will be your responsibility to ensure this is done.

Promotional Activity

The Hop to it! Marketing Team should be notified of details of any promotional activity prior to its execution to check for any sensitivities regarding timing and duplication and cc’d into all communications. Please email us: hoptoit@stelizabethhospice.org.uk

If you receive any media enquiries about the project, please redirect them to Simon Ward our Press and Campaigns Officer.

Hop to it! Sponsors and Partners

Your sponsors contact name and email address will be included on your agreement form. Please contact them to facilitate an introduction. It is essential that you contact us in advance with details of any planned promotional activity.

Information for Email Bulletins/Website Updates

Press releases or information sent to St Elizabeth Hospice may be used by us as a source of information for the media.

Updates should be sent to: hoptoit@stelizabethhospice.org.uk regularly and may form the basis for information in the Hop to it! social media activity.

Written Credit

In press releases and other written documents, artists should use the following credit: [ARTIST NAME] is proud to be a sculpture artist for Hop to it! Suffolk 2025

Social media

We encourage you to use social media to support your goals and objectives as an art trail artist in the run up to and throughout the event.

Hop to it! Suffolk 2025 is being delivered by St Elizabeth Hospice in partnership with creative producers Wild in Art – please tag and share content when you can.

Hop to it! Suffolk 2025: @Ipswicharttrail

Wild in Art: @wildinart

St Elizabeth Hospice: @stelizabethhospice

#hoptoit #hoptoitsuffolk2025

Please ensure that we have your social media handles so that we can follow you and share content.

Additional Information

Downloads

Hop to it! Logo

'I'm painting a hare!' – Social Media Graphic

Social Media Collaboration Guide

Terms and Conditions

1. For each of your designs which are commissioned, St Elizabeth Hospice and Wild in Art will provide you with one undecorated sculpture, to recreate your design on to. No other use of the sculpture is permitted.

2. Cost of materials is your responsibility except for specialist varnish, which you do not need to apply. Specialist varnish will be applied by a Hop to it! events partner on completion.

3. If you are not able to paint the sculpture in the painting space provided in Ipswich, we will work with you in order to co-ordinate and manage the safe and secure transportation of the sculpture in the most cost-effective way. Artists may be expected to pay all or a proportion of delivery charges to and from the event storage. This is at the discretion of the event partner, and should be discussed and confirmed by both parties before any commission is confirmed.

4. You will provide a list of artist materials – specifically paint, brand and colours – used in the application on the sculpture. If you have used any specialist materials, hand mixed colours or have any ‘left over’ resources, we welcome artists to send a ‘hare care’ package when their sculpture is returned. This will massively help our maintenance team in post trail restorations.

5. St Elizabeth Hospice reserves the right to withhold any fee payable to you in connection with the event if in its sole opinion the quality of the finished work provided falls below that which can be reasonably expected for public display and/or is substantially different from the design submitted. The decision will be final and not be subject to any appeal.

6. The sculpture remains at all times the property of St Elizabeth Hospice and must be returned in good order, suitable for public display.

7. St Elizabeth hospice will, where practicable, try to offer artist’s first refusal to undertake repair and maintenance work should the applicable sculpture require it, but in most instances suitably experienced local artists will be commissioned separately by St Elizabeth Hospice to complete any agreed maintenance and repairs.

Artist Toolkit

Thank you again for being part of this incredibly special project – we hope that you are excited to get started!

Decorating the hare

About the hares

Dos & Don’ts

Marketing Guidelines

Additional Information

Sponsor Relationships

Painting Space Information

Artists Agreement

Artist Payments

Contact Information

Downloads

Terms and Conditions

Production

Payment, Copyright and Licensing

Auction

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