Hop to it! Suffolk 2025 Artist Spotlight – Sarah Edwards

Sarah Edwards lives and works in Ipswich as a registered nurse. She has a stronger connection than most to St Elizabeth Hospice as she’s worked at the Inpatient Unit since 2014. Prior to that, she was an oncology/haematology nurse at Ipswich Hospital for over 25 years.

She’s always been quite creative, she says, but it was while working part time at the hospice that she rediscovered her artistic talent.

Entirely self-taught, she started to produce collages of animals, which she creates by building up scraps of paper from magazines. These became very popular and some are on display at the hospice (look out for the postage stamp on every collage).

‘After seeing my artwork, the hospice fundraising team approached me to ask if I would be interested in submitting a design for the Elmer (the elephant) art trail in 2019.

‘I was thrilled to design and paint Thirty Ears, the Hairy Mammoth, and then Towny Owl (the much-loved Ipswich Town FC themed sculpture) for the more recent Big Hoot art trail which raised over £10,000 at auction for the hospice.

‘I’ve loved being a part of these trails and it’s so special to be able to help generate much needed funds. 

‘As a nurse at the hospice I can see first-hand how vital it is to maintain delivery of the excellent care and support that the hospice provides for patients and their loved ones for inpatients, Zest (young adult care), and in the community.

‘I chose my design, Summer, in celebration of the natural beauty of the hare. I love hares and have created several different hare collages. I was thrilled when I heard that this year’s theme was the hare!’