The Art of Well Dressing

For some days before the process of dressing begins, the boards on which the pictures are mounted are soaked in the village pond.  After this, they are plastered in clay which is dug locally and has been mixed with salt and trod to the right consistency.

The picture is then traced onto the boards, using a pointer or toothed wheel, and marked out with cones from the alder tree or with coffee beans.  Then comes the delicate and laborious task of infilling with flower petals and other natural materials.  No artificial or synthetic materials are ever used at Tissington.  Each petal has to be put in separately and they overlap like tiles on a roof so the rain will flow off the picture.  This process takes many hours and occupies all of the three days preceding Ascension Day.  The dressings are erected on the eve of Ascension Day.  This is the first time that those who have worked on the pictures see what the effect is really like as the pictures appear distorted when they are horizontal.  The dressings remain in place for around a week and in that time provide enjoyment for the thousands of visitors who come to see them.