Tatoosh 2009

Lino Tagliapietra made this glass sculpture, Tatoosh, by manipulating molten glass into its graceful, complex form. It’s not paint, but those layered strands of glass feel just as intentional as any brushstroke. I can just imagine him, coaxing the molten glass, wrapping strands, and building up this complex, tear-drop shape with its delicate neck. It’s amazing to think of the heat, the speed, and the precision required to create something so seemingly effortless. Looking at it, I wonder about his breath, his heartbeat, and what it felt like in his body as he worked. The way the colors blend—blues, greens, ambers—it’s like looking into deep water, or maybe a stormy sky. It’s kind of magical how he’s captured this sense of fluid movement in such a solid, static form. It makes me think about all the artists working with different materials, pushing the boundaries of what their medium can do. We're all in conversation, you know, inspiring each other across time. What can we learn from each other? How can we take glass and make it feel like paint? How can we make paint that has the depth of glass?