Magician artists.

Magician artists. I was 59 when I got my first magic kit in a box. I bought it at agarage sale on the other end of town from a colleague, who used to be amagician like me. The cardboard box cardboard boxn → caja de cart��ncardboard boxn → (bo?te f en) carton mcardboard boxcard n → with a handle still had all itstricks in the original compartments. Except for the collapsible hat andwand A handheld optical reader used to read typewritten fonts, printed fonts, OCR fonts and bar codes. The wand is waved over each line of characters or codes in a single pass. , the kit had obviously never been used. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When I was young, I was also fascinated with the magician'soutfit--not the box of tricks Box Of Tricks is a compilation box set by Queen which was sold in England in 1992 for ��50 CD or Cassette of Queen- The 12" Collection PAL video tape of Queen- Live at the Rainbow Album and Single Covers Poster A sew-on cloth Queen patch A metal Queen pin , since inventing my own tricks was so muchfun. Wearing our large black tablecloth on my back, wavingdifferent-colored straws I taped together, I was ready to practice a newrepertoire. Yes, there were mishaps, as scars on my teddy bear attest tothe difficulty of sewing up a bear cut in half with Dad's hacksaw.Yet, despite a few unfortunate casualties, I spent many hours with Mendsmaking up miraculous acts. I applied Mom's makeup to get my stars ready, setting everyoneup on the stage of a cut-out suitcase, my puppet stage. Performing wasmy favorite play and art. Most art historians say performance art datesfrom 1969, yet it was part of my growing up in 1949 (and I am certainthat was true for children who preceded me). Animating an��i��mate?tr.v. an��i��mat��ed, an��i��mat��ing, an��i��mates1. To give life to; fill with life.2. To impart interest or zest to; enliven: play figures, ordressing up as magicians and making up our acts, required anartist's awareness of the many possibilities in every found objectin the house. Designing magic acts was the art of ideas, way before artas idea was discussed in the art world. Exercising the magic inchildren's performance-and-idea arts is an important part of my artteaching today. GETTING READY My art class is preparing for a magic show. Dancingflashlights perform a dramatic opening. Still out of their hats,well-dressed rabbits and other stuffed animals are invited to class.Students flash index cards with drawings of their most magical ideas.The cards are a magician's license or, as our teacher calls them,union cards, to be a member of the "Brotherhood of MagicalArtists." When you are a magician, creating magic wands is serious business.A student made a wand that can spin, moved by a little electricpencil-sharpener motor. Another wand remembers magic words. It has arecording pen inside. One student makes a magic wand a wand used by a magician in performing feats of magic.See also: Magic from a fishing rod,"so I can pull its string," he says. It is amazing a��maze?v. a��mazed, a��maz��ing, a��maz��esv.tr.1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise.2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex.v.intr. to watch students transforming baseball caps, chefhats and even an old graduation cap into a magician's hat. "This hat has secret pockets," whispers a student, andanother says, "I've got windows in my top hat, so everyone cansee that no monkey business happens inside." Students model capes for an unplanned fashion show. One cape hasbeen crafted from black mini-blind slats and is held together by blackduct tape duct tapen.A usually silver adhesive tape made of cloth mesh coated with a waterproof material, originally designed for sealing heating and air-conditioning ducts.Noun 1. . Emilie has cut a black skirt and filled the pockets withsecret gadgets. Our big magician's book is an old encyclopedia I found at ayard sale. The official-looking book has magic words inside. Everyonemade up great magic sayings. The leather cover was freshly painted withacrylic paint and signed with every magician's fancy signature. IT'S SHOW TIME Inspired by my collection of HarryHoudini's magic posters, the children created great paintedposters, announcing their upcoming act. Children's humor humor,according to ancient theory, any of four bodily fluids that determined man's health and temperament. Hippocrates postulated that an imbalance among the humors (blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile) resulted in pain and disease, and that good health was in thestaging and presentations of magic is an important part of the art. Aclass ruler is given a full set of "teeth," becoming a saw,and is used to cut a paper doll in haft. The microphone used to announcean act is built around a battery-operated bubble blower. The magicianspeaks to the bubbles, coaxing them out of the microphone. An old camp trunk has been repainted as a magician's trunk,from which a large, gray stuffed elephant toy emerges. The elephant isin pain and is placed on a play bed lifted from the trunk. The elephantis gently soothed with a sponge of water and after the properincantations, a small elephant appears from inside its mother. The magicof birth is loudly applauded. Children speak about their magic acts, describing what will happen,how to imagine the act, even letting the audience know what should havehappened when things do not go according to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. plan. Unpolished performances are rehearsed before young audiences whoenthusiastically welcome the developing act. When objects don'texactly appear on cue, everyone accepts the general idea. For the grandfinale, our magician pulls some flower seeds out of her hat. She putsthe seeds back into her hat, and the young magician applies her magicalpowers of proper soil and preparation to the seeds. Then, from thedarkness of the hat, she dramatically pulls bright, freshly coloredtulips! The children's magic shows are reality shows thatillustrate life's often unappreciated magic. The magic invented and performed by children is a gentler kind ofmagic. Its views and themes are different from adult tricks.Children's finest performances are related to their magi Magi(mā`jī), priestly caste of ancient Persia. Probably Median in origin, they were, according to Herodotus, a tribe rather than a priestly family. Zoroaster is thought to have been a Magus. calwonderings about life and the environment, the magic of thingsencountered for the first time. Children who have watched a lot oftelevision tend to copy the magic they have seen. Art teaching caninspire original magic acts. This is a problem in all artteaching--keeping children's visions fresh and expressive duringchildhood. ORIGINAL MAGIC KITS Every art-class magician takes home a magic kitto be used and played with at home. A good art project keeps on giving,and we make art to fit into magic boxes so students can invent new showsfor new audiences. Based on how art is made and packaged, students can make magic kitsthat will never be sold at a garage sale, but cherished as art, for alifetime. A DISAPPEARING END Magic shows represent an authenticchildren's play turned into an art lesson. School art shouldaccurately represent the unique qualities of children's art,incorporating children's experiences as young artists. An artlesson in school should not look and feel entirely different than artmade outside of school. Unlike specialized adult art projects, magic andchildren's art derive from playing and combine many art media intoone act. From planning to execution, consider how many art forms areinvolved in a magic act. Magic should be a part of every art lesson. There should be fun andsurprises in the presentation of each lesson, and magical mysterypursued in every artistic task. Who can forget the magic of seeing herfirst print appearing in the developer tray or the magic of the firstprint pulled from an inked printing block? Art teaching and art makingshould never be routine; it's the magic and unpredictable resultsthat keep artists and teachers devoted to this work for a lifetime. Professor George Szekely is Area Head and Senior Professor of ArtEducation at the University of Kentucky Coordinates: The University of Kentucky, also referred to as UK, is a public, co-educational university located in Lexington, Kentucky. , Lexington, and serves on theArts & Activities Editorial Advisory Board.