Lino Tagliapietra grew up on the island of Murano, the center for glassmaking in Venice. Today, he is recognized as an accomplished artist and he is widely regarded as the best glassblower in the world. A respected teacher, Tagliapietra has influenced the careers of an entire generation of American artists working in glass. Learning Venetian glassblowing techniques enabled American studio glass artists to greatly expand their technical vocabularies which, with the addition of new and experimental approaches, led to the artistic redefinition of the material. This video was featured in the exhibition, Voices of Contemporary Glass: The Heineman Collection, on view at The Corning Museum of Glass, May 16, 2009– January 3, 2011.