On June 16th, 2019, Maestro Lino Tagliapietra’s trip to Pilchuck Glass School had him reminiscing about the very first time he made that trip. It was in 1979, on the invitation of Dale Chihuly and Benjamin Moore. Lino came to the United States to teach artists at Pilchuck how to manipulate the molten glass with finesse. It was his first time ever flying in an airplane, and he landed at SeaTac Airport in the middle of the night and searched the crowd for a liaison who was not there. He did not speak English at the time (only Italian) and after a long, delayed flight, he found himself on his own. There were no cell phones, only payphones where one needed American coin to make a call. With only Italian lire in his possession, he made a collect call to the school to get the basic directions to give to a taxi driver. He then found a taxi out front, climbed in and said: “Pilchuck, in Stanwood.” This was met with a very confused and a little bit concerned look from the driver, who had no idea where Pilchuck was.
In 1979, the school was located up a long, rutted, dirt road, deep in the forest, sixty miles from Seattle, where artists worked night and day in an open-air hot shop. One can imagine Lino in the back seat wondering: “dove sto andando? (where am I going?)” Where were you going, indeed Maestro! Since that dark, thrilling trip from the island of Murano to the forest of Stanwood, you have traveled all over the world, sharing your experience, passion for glass, friendship, and time with those of us who have the great pleasure of knowing you. Thank you, Lino, for sharing your art and your life with all of us.
