A display of 1,200 beautiful hand-made ceramic flowers and 500 mini beasts, made as part of a Sandwell arts project, will receive national attention at a top gardening show this week.
And the team behind the project is keen to receive offers from visitors to buy the entire exhibit.
The Royal Horticultural Society’s Malvern Spring Festival is featuring Creative Arts’ Ceramic Garden at this year’s festival from Thursday (11 May) to Sunday (14 May).
Sandwell’s Deputy Mayor Councillor Susan Downing will be joining artists from Creative Arts at the show on Thursday (11 May), to see the garden on display.
The project has already won a top award from the Royal Horticultural Society’s Britain in Bloom Award for the It’s Your Neighbourhood category. The project got a Level 3 award.
Sandwell Council-run Creative Arts, which provides day opportunities for people with disabilities, set up the project last year with arts organisation Creative Black Country.
More than 500 people from a range of community and education groups across the Black Country helped make the magical ceramic garden.
The Oldbury centre’s service users – who have a range of learning and physical disabilities – painted the glazes and put the finishing touches to the flowers ready for public display.
Flowers were unveiled at Tipton Library last July and have since been shown at Sandwell Arts Café, Oak House Museum, Sandwell Arts Festival, RSPB Sandwell Valley, Sandwell College and Bethel Convention Centre and the BBC studios at The Mailbox.
Deputy Mayor Councillor Susan Downing said: “This is a wonderful achievement – Sandwell and our talented artists will really shine at the Malvern Spring Festival, a major national show that attracts visitors from all over the country.
“It’s the perfect swansong for the Ceramic Garden, to celebrate the efforts of everyone – aged four to 92 – involved in this project.”
Richard Flatley, from Creative Arts, said: “We have all loved working on the Ceramic Garden project and appreciate how well it has been received.
“We will listen to any serious offer to buy the entire artwork. It is easily transportable and, with the infrastructure and packaging, represents a considerable investment. The money received would go straight back into this service for people with disabilities.
“We will also have a large number of surplus flowers and beasties that can be bought each day of the show.”
Creative Arts produces a wide range of beautiful and unique work all year round. Visit the studio at Unit 37 to 39 Cyprus Street, Oldbury, to view, commission and buy work. The studio is open Mondays to Fridays, 10am to 3pm. Craft workshops can be run on request.
Creative Arts ran Ceramic Garden workshops with the following community groups:
- Christ Church Primary School, Oldbury
- Goscote Greenacres Centre, Walsall
- Oak House Gardening Group, West Bromwich
- Options For Life, Oldbury
- RSPB Sandwell
- Sandwell College
- Sandwell Community Information & Participation Service (SCIPS)
- Sandwell Visually Impaired (SVI)
- Sandwell Council Youth Offending Team
- Crafty Muthas, Smethwick
- The Brades Lodge School, Oldbury
- The Lyng Community Association Media Group, West Bromwich
- The Prince’s Trust, Sandwell
- The Pudding Club, Oldbury
- The Sense charity, Smethwick
- The Westminster School, Rowley Regis
- We Are Bearwood, Smethwick
- Women Of Wolverhampton (WOW)
- Yew Tree & Tamebridge Community Centre