The basis of magic over the years has essentially been the appearance and disappearance of things. Granted there are predictions, transpositions, suspensions and levitations, etc. But even many of those, when reduced to bare bones, are productions or vanishes even if in pairs.

My question here is limited to productions only. Then I want to limit that to just silk productions. Silks make great productions because they are compressible, brightly colored, move with the exposure to air, make wonderful use of lighting and can be made to occupy large spaces. They are also easy to match to any theme or color requirement.

Many of mine are rarely available any more. As the value of the US dollar has fallen overseas and productivity and standards of living have grown overseas silk has gotten more expensive for American magicians. Many magicians cannot afford some of the beautiful silk props that were once common.

One is the old Line-O-Silks and Line-O-Flags. These were ribbons with many (whatever you could afford) silks or silk flags sewn to them. They were compact so that they could be produced from anything from an envelope or newspaper to a large box like huge square circles. They could be made to use the entire stage or room once strung out. Of course, there is no reason you could not make your own, but those projects never seem to get done. Streamers are more available today than the individual silks on ribbons. They're just not the same.

What are your favorite silk productions and production silks?

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Hi, Bob! I know you know one of my answers: a long streamer (anywhere from 25ft. to 50 ft.) produced using Duke's Dye Version. Talk about packing small but having a big punch! I have two 25 ft. tie dyed streamers, one 25 ft. Rice streamer, one 32 ft. multicolor streamer, and one 50 ft. streamer. I vary the streamer I use depending on the venue.

I also love Pavel's Blendo Full of Holes. I just made one up with orange and black silks. Those DoveLite Silks look pretty good, Bob!

And I like using a line of flags (small version) at the end of an egg bag routine (idea from Duane Laflin).

Well, like you said, Bob, there is so much one can do with silk. So one must scheme. Hmmm, I wonder where I got that from?

Jimmy

Jimmy,

Great ideas! (and I love your good taste!)

How long have you had a line of flags? Were you able buy them or did you have to have them made?

I had a need for silk Canadian flags and simply could not find small (12" to 18") silk ones. Everything was plastic, nylon, paper or cotton. I would love to have a source of small state flags (50 of them!) in silk.

Duane is loaded with good ideas. Lucy bankrupts me buying his sponge tricks.

Streamers are really hot sellers again. Where are they all going? (Jimmy knows!) Also I have learned that belly dancers are using magicians' silks. Yep, they like the big streamers in solid colors. Magic will never be safe again. A guy in a tux just can't compete.

Jimmy, after Halloween is over, I want to see a picture of your orange and black creation. That has to be a one and only!

Bob
Magic By Sander

I have had the line of flags for a few years. I have both the smaller set and the larger set.

I'll be glad to send you a photo of my orange and black Blendo Full of Holes. It's identical to Pavel's except for the colors. I still have Pavel's set. The g*****k it comes with is one of my favorites. (Bob, you know I'll have to work on a green and red set soon.)

Interesting that you bring up belly dancers because the person who made up my two 25 ft. tie dyed streamers is not a magician and has made several silk streamers for different types of dancers. She stated I was her first magician customer.

Jimmy

Jimmy,

Some of the folks who know me from my mis-spent youth will tell you that everything I know I learned from showgirls. They can make Martha Stewart look like a beginner. Those girls can fix anything in three minutes to get you through one more show. They should write a book. "Oops! It's Showtime" would be a good title.

(Ever fixed a torn dove harness with the shoulder strap from a bra? Not only does it work, it's adjustable! They also taught me that clear nail polish makes great glue.)

I learned about using flesh-colored tape and Band-Aids from showgirls. I think the benefits of such came much later to magicians. A silk worker that hasn't ever bought a pair pantyhose for the toes has a lot to learn too.

Dancers do like silks! A dancer with some imagination can make a thousand different outfits from what you have in your "war" bag. It will save you a fortune in assistants' costumes. No wonder the lady who made your streamers thought doing the same for a magician was unusual. Dancers beat us to everything!

Jimmy, I look forward to seeing that photo of your Holy Gobblin Blendo. Is it like the Quad Silk with red, green, blue and yellow?

(Just a note about the red/green you have planned for later: the green matches the "The End" silks perfectly. The text on the "The End" is red. It may change your ending for a while.)

Wouldn't it be good to find some black and white checkerboard (winner's flag) silk streamers or line of flags?

Bob
Magic By Sander

While I didn't actually sew my silks onto a ribbon, in one of our stage routines, we produce a "chain" of twenty x 18" silks as a part of that routine. 10 different colours, then repeated. All are tied together at the top corners. They come out of a drawer box, along with a number of other items, including ten individual solid colour 36" silks, a 60' streamer, and a 200' string of beads.

This is a routine I use in a lot of shows, one of my favorites (not sure that Shannon would agree with that, as she is the one who has to re-set it ).

I am also very excited every time I produce my 6' x 6' tie dye silk (made by Richard Hughes) from my square circle, but I don't use that particular routine as much. Lots of flash & colour in that routine as well.

It's all about the "wow!"

- Donald

P.S. Here's a photo of Richard's handiwork being used in a performance:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/D......ilk2.jpg

Donald is right! The reset isn't always as much fun. However, it is cerainly worth it. The WOW!s do come and the act does get meaningful attention. (Getting rebooked is always an acceptable way of saying "I love you" to a working magician.)

Great photo Donald!

Bob
Magic By Sander

One of the great things is that 6' x 6' silk came out of a small square circle (made by Mel Babcock), about 11" tall, 6" diameter, in addition to a number of other silks (and then a couple of flagstaffs at the end are produced from behind the 6' x 6' silk as I am bundling it up). In the photo, the silk is totally covering the square circle and the table it is on. To the audience, it looks huge in proportion to the prop it is produced from.

So much fits into a square circle or other production prop, and then there are other items you can produce on the offbeat, like feather flowers or flagstaffs, to add a punch to the routine.

When producing a silk, expecially a picture silk, or a larger tie dye silk, remember to pause and wait for your applause. Let the audience appreciate the beauty of the item, don't just move on quickly.

- Donald

Good point Donald! Pauses are a very important and overlooked part of many acts. It's not a speed contest; it is entertainment. Give them the eye candy! Then give the audience time to react.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

I purchased a set of flags in line about 15 of them from Maxello Magic.

John

I still love and use the Levent single silk production during my candle effects.

Thanks to DoveLite, now I have Line O Silks ---- these are an automatic addition to my list of favorite silk production items. I had been trying to get these for the past two years. Thanks again, Bob!

I'm going to do a couple of shows at my oldest daughter's school next month and I will definitely use these. I am not sure yet how I will use them: right now I'm thinking about using Line O Silks with Duke's Dye Version routine or a modified version of Pavel's News-Silks Knotting. Or maybe I'll use a double-load Lewis cone. Hmmm, or maybe........ Hey, I'm just following Bob's advice: scheme!

Happy holidays, everyone!

Jimmy

Thank you Jimmy. It's one of the most versatile production props out there. It packs small, plays big and doesn't eat! It also marks you as a pro magician instead of a hobbyist.

It is as close as many magicians can afford to come to using the whole stage. This Spring in my new show I will be producing a line of 24" butterflies.

Making plans to scheme is just magical thought in forward motion.

Enjoy!

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Ever since you started the Silk Biz, Bob, I have been able to make many clothesline productions ! I did an all orange one for Halloween, with different pumpkin faces drawn on them using those large Sharpies sold at Home Depot. For fall festivals, a line of alternating red, yellow and ornage with leaves drawn on them, a string of yellow silks that say BACK TO SCHOOL for my September shows, a string of Red, White, and Blue for patriotic shows, and a string of Red, Pink, & White for Valentines day with Hearts drawn on them. It was also you who gave me the courage to do the art work on the silks, after reading about it in this column of the Café.

From one Bama boy to another, thanks man !

:D

Mark

Long Streamers flipped and floated by using a sword (previously produced) to bring the bulk out of hiding -- then using that bulk to steal and produce a silk fountain (change of pace).

Mark,

Thank you!

Glad you were encouraged to create! It sounds like nothing can stop you now.

You know that I often end my show with a huge red heart (also made with Sharpie pens) on a 24" silk. After the show I get to go home. And I Love Lucy!

It is a great way to personalize your show.

When you get brave enough to come north again, come visit Lucy and me at Magic Valley Ranch. Get your picture made with one of Lucy's real live unicorns. Only the folks at Disney will believe you!

Write "Roll Tide" on a silk and see if those folks in Florida know what it means. Elvis may be dead but The Bear isn't!

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Careful, I am married to a Gator !

I don't think she would appreciate a Bear Bryant finale' in my show.

She is pretty tolerant of me, though.....

;)

Mark

Gator Bait! can be a magical word.

Now I know why you started with orange silks.

Wait until you see my new Spring show. My production is a line of 24" butterflies! But Lucy is a UCLA gal. There is plenty of yellow in this act.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Here is a shot of a line of Rice 18" Dragon silks with a 36" in the center. I produce these from an old Reidel Silk Gong...

Click here to view attached image.

That looks beautiful, Mark. Congratulations!

Geoffrey