Making the Children's Well 2005

Well Dressing in Great Hucklow

Making the Well Dressing

How the Great Hucklow Well Dressing started

Making the Well Dressing

The clay is soaked in a bath and mixed to remove the lumps.  This is called "puddling".  It is then put in a wooden frame and levelled until smooth.

The picture is traced on to see-through paper and placed on the clay.  The picture is then pricked out with cocktail sticks, so the design shows on the clay when the paper is taken off.

The design is edged with sweet cicely seeds, and is filled with various seeds, petals etc. to form the picture.

When the Well Dressing has finished, the clay is stripped from the well and stored in buckets, ready for the following year.