James May's Plasticine Garden

For Tender to purchase

James May's Toy Stories was a television series presented by James May. The series was commissioned for BBC Two from Plum Pictures. The premise of the 6-part show was to bring favourite toys of the past into the modern era, by using the toys in real life large scale enterprises. In each episode, he also explores the history of each toy.

In Plasticine (Episode 2) shown on 3rd November 2009, he models a full-sized garden out of the toy modelling clay Plasticine, as an exhibit in the Chelsea Flower Show.

May designed a garden named "Paradise in Plasticine" made entirely of Plasticine for the 2009 Chelsea Flower Show. He missed out on the official awards but won 'The People's Choice' award and was also awarded a special "Plasticine Gold" Award for his efforts. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/chelseaflowershow/5324764/James-Mays-Plasticine-Garden-at-Chelsea-Flower-Show-2009.html

Sizes (Approximate):

Height: 240cm
Length: 365cm
Width: 250cm

The wining tender will be responsible for removal, transportation and erecting the garden and will cover all costs involved.

The benefit of having this iconic piece is it will be an attraction to visitors. East Staffordshire Borough Council had this on display for a period of 10 months and saw a significant rise in audiences and visitors. It has also acted as a vehicle to run workshops and created a new interest in this medium.

The garden took 6 weeks to create and 2.6 tonnes of Plasticine was used in 24 colours, May said "This is, to our knowledge, the largest and most complex model of this type ever created". May refused to take credit for the garden, the largest of its kind, saying that 2,000 volunteers assisted with the venture.

In July 2009, the garden was moved to Sudbury Hall in Derbyshire, and was placed on display in the upper mall of the Octagon Shopping Centre in Burton upon Trent in February 2010. This was removed in November 2010 and has remained in storage. Therefore East Staffordshire Borough Council is looking for this wonderful assist to be displayed in a new setting.

The deadline for sealed bids is 12noon on the 6th January. They should be addressed to Laura Hunt, East Staffordshire Borough Council, The Maltsters, Wetmore Road, Burton upon Trent, DE14 1LS

For further information please contact Paul Challacombe – Arts Development Team Leader on 01283 508515. E-mail paul.challacombe@eaststaffsbc.gov.uk.