“The underlying purpose of magic in its many aspects is to help people approach life and the cosmos in a state of wonder”. — from Art and Magic by Sam Sharpe, published by Miracle Factory After reading Mr. Sharpe’s quote I realized that I am in fact, living in the “state of wonder”: Nevada. There is more art and wonder in Nevada than anywhere I have ever lived. Between creating our magical art at the annual Burning Man Art festival, all the Vegas magic shows, the visiting magicians, and the events we host here at the center, we live in an almost constant state of wonder! I keep many of Sam Sharpe’s books near my desk. I often open one and read a few passages to keep me inspired and deep in thought about my art. Sam thought deeply about the art of magic and his works are wonders, written from his heart. Having a few days at home, Abbi and I are catching up on our reading. If you’ve been to our home you know that we never watch television programming (who wants to be programmed?). In fact, we have no antenna or cable, no satellite either — and our television is only a monitor to watch tapes of students or to review our practice sessions. Although the occasional cool movie like EXISTO or One Giant Leap (find these movies!) or instructional magic performance DVD finds its way if company drops over and just needs a TV fix. At home, we are mostly listening to CDs of our friends’ music, or making live music. Many of our friends are i ncredible musicians who make their own CDs of their music, so we hardly ever buy “pop” music! Abbi has been studying the Kora, an African harp. Her teacher is Toumani Kouyate, from Senegal, and he is one of the stars of Cirque du Soleil’s show “O”. Late at night, Abbi plays her music. Harpstrings fill the air with sound and mix with champa incense (our favorite) and I practice my magic routines and improvise to her sweet melodies….. ah, a few days at home… bliss!