Story by Diana Cozma | Photo by Patrick Amber
On 3rd July 2016, at 12 noon, a baby elephant was presented to the world. Following June’s mass migration of elephants throughout Sheffield to support the Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity, the Burngreave Cemetery picked up the trail with “The Baby of the Herd” in memory of Lizzie, the Indian elephant which was put to work in the city’s steel industry during World War One.
To everyone’s awe, this purple baby elephant (designed by 10 year old Millie Molloy) was the centrepiece of this year’s well dressing, following the Cemetery’s now established tradition. In 2015, a giant bee stood at the heart of the design.
Local volunteers worked for three days to bring the well dressing to life. Patrick Amber, local artist, explained that
“It all starts with having a wooden board which is filled with moist clay. On to that we imprinted the baby elephant shape. Afterwards it’s just flowers and patience.”
Louise Hunt, who attended the workshop, added
“What I love most about it is that everything is hand made using living things, and also that this Burngreave one, unlike other Derbyshire well dressings, is not tied to religion. It involves local people and encourages them to be creative, while celebrating water as the source of all life”.