Crystal Dragon

"The creator of what we think is a very good visual is the Liberec studio _STROY." Says David Pastva, the director of the Crystal Valley project. "We were thrilled with the dragon theme, it exactly meets our ideas. I am also very happy that the large-scale mural of the dragon is located in the centre of Liberec. We are implementing the project in cooperation with Preciosa, which has long supported and developed the Crystal Valley and related activities."

The finished circular painting has a diameter of about 11 metres, the creators covered 95 square metres of the area with paint and bought 120 pints of spray paint.

"We were looking for a theme that reflects the fact that glassmaking is historically inseparable from the Liberec region and the whole project of the Crystal Valley is also about giving this beautiful craft a future." says one of the creators Jiří Hořavka. "I originally thought of a snake, but a dragon is ideal. It's about the fire it carries. It's a clear symbolism of rebirth. Just as he will melt his own tail on the wall here with his own fire, so glassmakers repeatedly melt glass shards to create new fragile beauty. And at the same time, it's also about the history of the glassmaking craft that was, is, and we want to see remain in the Crystal Valley into the future."

Jiří Hořavka and Ondřej Beneš began work on the design at the beginning of 2023 and have been decorating the gable of the house since early April 2023.