OK, I'll admit it - I love silks! They are so colorful and have a 'life' by their movement and sheen. To me they really say 'magic'.

So I have been interrested in working silks into close-up. Is anyone else playing with this? My one successful attempt so far is doing a color changing card trick, then "peeling" that color back off of the selected card by pulling a matching color silk from behind it and showing that the card's back pattern is back to the original color.

My finding is that close-up is usually done with hard objects...cards, coins, dice...etc. It seems to shock the audience when something as soft and unexpected as a silk is produced or manipulated - even a small one. They seem impossible to palm or manipulate to the audience.

What are people's feelings/ideas on this?

Boy did you hit my Hot Button! I totally agree with you. Silk is magic!

My teacher in the 60s was Tony Slydini in New York. We all have probably seen his routine with the unknotting silks that won't stay tied together. For decades it has been sold with white (to look like men's handkerchiefs) rip-stop and parachute nylon. Too many people think that part makes it work. Actually it has nothing to do with workings. He taught me the trick using regular 18" silks in two different colors. Try it!

It is close-up silk magic in colors with real silks. The real benefits are that by using the 18" silks you can transition into or from other silk magic with the same props. When I perform it, I allow the volunteer to pick the colors and then give them their favorite one as a souvenir of the show. You would be surprised how often people ask that you autograph it afterwards. (Use a Sharpie pen.) It's great promotion.

Enjoy your silk magic!

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Vanishing Silk using a TT or pull!
Mini Blendo silk - several different color silks change to a silk that contains all the colors of the individual silks!
Color Changing silk using a hand dye tube. Check out Bev Taylor, Pat Page, Dai Vernon, Ron Wilson,etc. routines for close-up applications!!

Johnny Ace Palmer has a nice routine on Volume 1 of his "Trilogy of Magic" videos called "Three Magic Scarves." He performs it as if he's performing for kids, but it should play just as well for adults.

There used to be a demo of it online, but I can't seem to find it now.

I think silk magic is overlooked by a lot of magicians because of the set up time. But IMHO it is time well spent. You have magic that can fill a stage without a great deal invested in money, it takes up very little space and has many vivid colors available. Have I sold you yet?

Bob feel free to chime in any time.

Well it looks like I'm not the only one who has a silk habit! Darkwing reminded me of another benefit - they pack VERY flat! And yet they become voluminous and visual.

Here's where I am getting really interrested though: I think that silks can have a place in intimate close-up table work. I think that small (6-9") silks could be great used with other classical close-up items (coins, cards, rings, sponge balls, etc.). But the only thing I've ever seen like this is the use of a handkercheif to cover a deck or such.

I'm finding that silks need not only play big, they can be beautiful if played small, close, and slow (playing to the soft character of the material). When I "peel the color off" of a card back, I start flicking the corner of the card like I'm loosening it, then slooooowly pull the colored silk away from the card. It's right under their nose and unexpected. It's not flashy, but ... for lack of a better word, sensual.

Am I thinking too deep here or is this close, slow silk thing worth persuing?

BTW, thanks for what seems like a great discussion - I really enjoy talking theory, since I like to make/theme my own tricks whenever possible. And - fair warning - I tend to be long-winded. Thanks for bearing with me!

You know there is no reason not to gimmick a card like a Swami gimmick to hide a small silk. But don't forget the advantages of diamond cuts! (I emailed you a size chart.)

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

I still couln't find a demo of Johnny Ace Palmer's routine online, but if any of you would like to see it, PM me your email address and I'll be happy to send the demo to you. The video (VHS) itself can still be found online for less than $10!

Cartoon Cowboy- there's tons of effects that combine silks with other objects; coin/thimble/ball through silk, silk to billiard ball/egg/whatever, not to mention the good ol' color-changing silk. They may not have as much application in close-up magic because many people don't carry handkerchiefs anymore (while everyone carries coins.) Of course, if you're a magician, you don't need an excuse to have them.

I mostly do stage magic instead of close-up, but love silks as well- there's nothing like walking out on stage completely empty handed, and producing volumes of colorful silks from nowhere in rapid succession- it has great visual appeal to the audience. It's like you're producing tropical parrots without worrying about getting bird #$%! all over your coat (No offense to those magicians who work with birds...)

Thanks for the reminders, all! When I think about it, I don't see why parlor sized tricks like the silk ball/egg can't be done at the close-up table. It may even make the effect seem more miraculous - just takes more careful palming I guess.

I don't think I mind using atypical props in magic, even in close-up. True, people don't carry handkerchiefs anymore, but I don't think silks are so foreign that they are questioned. They obviously are just what they are - a piece of silk. I guess it could fall into the same discussion (although I wish it wouldn't, as it seems only to be a matter of preference) about coin magic that seems to be the buzz right now: Everyone carries coins, but not the large ones that are most used for magic - they don't even recognize a half let alone a sliver dollar.

The same is true for silks, but it doesn't bother me personally. I agree with what you all seem to be saying that the bright, visual magic takes precidence over the audience's ability to relate to the object as 'everyday'. I'll start looking into gaffing tabletop objects for silks too. I'm staring at 8 Tarbell volumes that could used to have their covers cracked again!

It is odd to me that the same people who have no problem putting a match to $10 worth of flash powder and paper balk at cutting up a silk or drawing or writing on it.

Sharpie pens work great on almost any color real silk. Put a prediction, "Thank You", a phone number, or the host's name on them. Present them magically and give them as a momento of the event. To your audience, it is priceless. It is a sneaky way to get them to keep your business card forever!

Good Luck!

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

That's a great idea, Bob. I'm sure I'll use it. Especially if the audience has a personal connection with the silk such as a prediction of something they selected appearing on it, or using a TT to produce it from a personal item of theirs.

I got inspired to start using silks and handkercheifs while viewing David Roth's Ultimate coin magic vol 2 coin and silk magic. I would highly recommend getting this DVD. Recently I've been using the Novel Coin vanish with a bandanna but instead of a coin I've been using a lemon. Get the DVD!