From Strokes to Monographs-Part 3 'finale'

Before I finish my story; may I say hello and welcome to a number of recent subscribers! I look forward to keeping you up to date on exhibitions and all sorts of behind the scenes activities and a glimpse into my world of glass.

STROKES

If I have been lucky enough to capture your time in reading my previous blogs, you will by now be aware that the Strokes I refer to were far from a scratch of a diamond across a sheet of glass. However this my final post in my 'Strokes to Monograph voyage and back story.

In the summer of 2024, I presented 'Shattered' as an open entry submission for the 2025 International Biennial of Glass (IBG) in Bulgaria. This prestigious exhibition has an anticipated international entry list of over 1500 Internationally established artists, and is one of the leading glass exhibitions in the world. Selection is by an esteemed jury of art professionals, who seek to capture the diversity and variation in Glass technique and form .

'Shattered' is inspired by my vision of the damage caused by stroke. The vibrant blue veins are the life force flowing around the vanilla neurons and synapses. Deep black neurons and synapses represent those movements and emotions lost. Rebuilding and hope are expressed by the use of two glass types that will continue to chemically react with each other for decades.

'In January 2025, to my absolute delight, I received an email that required reading twice to confirm that ‘Shattered’ had been selected, and I was invited to exhibit! Whilst I had wished for recognition to occur, I was frankly rather underprepared. I had no profile, no name presence, an evolving body of work, and a rather domestic website 'Oldroarglass.co.uk' that at least appeared on Google, but was in no way suitable for the international exposure I hoped such an amazing opportunity might provide.

After a long, hard look at myself and the tough love of friendly critiques, and a very steep learning curve courtesy of the 'Parker Harris Art Ladder' mentoring, it was clear that my 'profile' was not representative of the direction I had to travel.

MONOGRAPHS

So rather like the ugly duckling it is my greatest pleasure to announce that my new website has now officially launched.

keithdymond.co.uk

My old website will function for some time but this new site will become the centre of my activity. Workshop bookings and educational contact will also transfer onto this site in the new year. The new web site has a brand new gallery and enquiry function and I invite you to subscribe and be the first to know about up coming events and news.

BACK IN SOFIA

'Shattered' exhibited at the National Gallery Sofia as part of the 2025 International Biennale of Glass until the 30th of November and continues to draw interest and discussion. After the IBG closes, 'Shattered' will transfer to the National Permanent Collection of Glass exhibition hall in Treyvania and become forever a little part of history.