Paul Stankard is one of the world's leading lampworkers - a glassworking technique which enables him to create delicate and beautiful sculptures from coloured glass rods.

This documentary shows the fascinating process from conception to finished product, with close-ups showing the technical and artistic skill required to work with material on the point of a 2000 deg C flame.

Stankard refers to his work as 'inventing illusions', emphasising his belief that he is creating something with "organic credibility" rather than merely copying nature. His portrayals are based in a lifelong passion for the natural world fed by endless hours walking his native New Jersey Pine Barrens, where we follow him on some of his walks.

The programme also takes us to an opening at the Heller Gallery, New York, and Stankard's work can be seen in museums and galleries round the world, including the Metropolitan in NYC, the Smithsonian in Washington, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.