Many of my close friends know that one of my main passions in life is researching the art of Alchemy. Often at our events here at the Magic School, I am asked, “Just what does alchemy have to do with thep erformance of stage magic or close-up magic?” One of the many definitions of alchemy is that it is the “spiritualization of matter.” At our workshops, we have an exercise where we ask our students to select something very mundane, perhaps a simple magic effect, and combine it with some of their personal experiences. Be adding these personal elements of our lives — our strength, will, love and imagination — we can transform the most ordinary “trick” into a sensational piece of magical theater. I grew up in Rock Hill, New York — up in the Catskill mountains. I spent a lot of my youth exploring the woods. Ever since I was a kid, I enjoyed transforming ordinary places into extraordinary magical spaces. It all started with my earliest magical installation: my walk-in closet/haunted house. Then on to my magic show theater setups in the basement and continuing on to my participation in creating art installations and ritual theater events at The Mystery School, Mysterium, Desert Moon Circle, Firedance, Burning Man, The Wonderdome…. There is a mysterious creative force within me that wants not only to perform magic, but to create enchanting, magical spaces as well. Now that we have finally opened the Magical Arts Center we have over 5000 square feet of free space for our magic company and all of our friends in the magic community to create and transform their inspiration into art, their lead into gold!