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Another year has passed and it’s Well Dressing time.  Every year I whinge about how cold it is in the barn but maybe because of the awful weather that we have had this spring I am becoming accustomed to it.  However it is still true that it is actually warmer outside than in.  I wrapped up warmly, the long johns have seen their first outing of the year and underneath my sweatshirt I had two thick thermal tops on.

The first day is always spent outlining the design, for some people it may seem monotonous but actually it very therapeutic and relaxing, seeing the picture emerging from the grey clay.

There are always a few hiccups which are rarely obvious once the design has been finished.
The clay has been well puddled but somehow some quite large stones have escaped Edward’s quality control and rise to the surface as you are positioning the coffee beans. Sometimes the edge of the clay collaspes and emergency repairs are needed; out comes the plastering trowel.

I have been busy outlining a rose and leaves on the right hand board. It is quite fiddly and as I want to match up the veins on the leaves with the design on the left hand board I then swap over.  It’s at this point I realise that this part of the picture is not a mirror image. It would have been really obvious to us if it had been left, maybe not to the visitors.  So after lunch Edward erases the outline, the template is flipped over and Margaret shows Edward how to prick out the design.

We are not sure which green leaves to use for the rose leaves, the glossy ones like ivy and viburnum are too thick and curl up. So we go outside to do a raid in the garden. I am trying out geranium and valerian overnight to see how they react in the clay before any final decision is made.

Margaret’s creation this year is a not purely religious. The central picture board, which isn’t started until tomorrow, is the story of the Good Shepherd, but the rest of the boards are designed to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Framing the central board are the words Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee with crowns at the base.  The outer boards show the national emblems of the UK: the rose, thistle, shamrock and leek.

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As the afternoon moves on, school is out and addtional helpers arrive; friends of the Carr children from QEGs and Anthony Gell, it is true, many hands make light work. The outline is completed and tomorrow we begin the best bit, flower petaling.

Click on any photo to enlarge.

Click here for Tissington Well Dressings 2012 – Day 1