Robert Nelson RIP

Back in the 80's when my boyfriend and I were obsessed with juggling, one of the must see jugglers was Robert Nelson (aka Butterfly Man).  He was a fixture in the San Francisco street performers circles.  I knew of him from that and also from his work as MC with the International Juggler's Assoc.  Did he ever know me by name? Probably not. But I was sad to hear that he'd just passed on. So I give a silent 5 ball reverse cascade for you Robert Nelson.  I just found out he had a Facebook page. I wish I'd known earlier.

Still juggling after all these years.

Passing Clubs

The most I've ever passed is 7 and not even a solid pattern.  http://www.wimp.com/bestjugglers/
Kudos.

Going Jester

When an acquaintance of mine dressed like a jester at an SCA event, all my jester memories came flooding back. I'd like to make a new jester costume. I'm afraid I've outgrown my old ones.  I think I've made 3 in past...2 for me and 1 for my ex-husband. But since I don't have the room to sew right now, I think I'll knit or crochet a jester's hat.  We can't prove crochet is period so it would probably be better to knit it.

DIY Juggling Prop Ideas

For years I've been trying to wean myself off of plastic juggling equipment for those times when I am juggling at SCA events or Ren faires.   I've seen old art in the past that shows medieval jugglers doing toss juggling with sticks.  So yesterday at Lowe's I bought 3 lathed table legs to use as juggling pins (clubs). They have a screw end for screwing them into a table top.  So I decided to screw a wooden ball on each end.  The 3 legs were under $5 and the 3 balls, which I got at Michaels were $2 each.  They are doll heads and already have a hole in them.  So I need to epoxy the 2 parts together. I was just going to stain them and keep it simple, and maybe pad the handles with rags.  But my boyfriend thinks I should make a doll head out of the ball part.

Then I started thinking it would be fun to juggle cabbage. I told him that I meant real cabbage, but he says I could make the cabbage out of fabric so as not to waste food.  As usual I'm visualizing it one way and he's visualizing it another. I think it would be more theatrical to have the cabbage leaves flying off.

Also I've toyed with the idea of a pirate juggling show.  Out of the blue I think it would be strange and dark to juggle shrunken heads.  I've never seen anyone do that before.  I'd make them out of cloth or papier mache I guess. Anyway those are some ideas.

Repairing Flower Sticks

Today when I was making a hula hoop, I remembered that my 'flower sticks' were in dire need of repair.  They were just falling apart and I didn't know why. So while I had all the tape out, I took them apart. The fringed ends had had a catastrophic glue failure. And while those ends are tacked down or nailed down in most versions, the version I bought was only glued.  So my boyfriend thought Barge cement would do the trick.  I'm pretty sure they are made out of vinyl.  So while I wait 10 minutes for the cement to set before pressing the layers together, I thought I'm make a blog post. After the glue dries, I'll redecorate with colored electrical tape.  Juggling equipment is expensive, so I believe in repairing things if possible before buying new.  I've already gotten my money's worth out of these many times over and we already have Barge cement, so it's not going to cost me anything but time to fix them.

Juggling at Rapier Tourney

Juggling Five Beanbags

When I broke out the juggling equipment at Queen's Champion Rapier in Altavia last weekend, I was surprised to meet four or five fencers that juggle. The photos didn't come out very well in the deep shade. I had to lighten them up a bit just to see them. But it's better than no photos in my book.

I worked on multi-plexing five and cascading five balls.

Me on World Juggling Day 2012

World Juggling Day was a bit over a week ago. I can't believe I posted my juggling photos elsewhere but forgot to put them here.  So here goes. This was at an SCA event called Gyldenholt Anniversary at Pacifica High School in CA.

Juggling at Queen's Champion Archery Altavia

My first juggling of the summer. My injury on my left shoulder made doing 2 in my left hand like learning all over again. The stiffness mucks up my timing. And what's with my weight? Ugh.  I was so discouraged I didn't even put my photos in the SCA album with the other ones I put on Facebook.

Juggling Practice

Practicing four beanbags.

It was so sunny and nice outside that I decided to juggle.  But I wasn't feeling that great. The grass was wet; the neighbors let their dogs poop all over it, and the sun was so bright. In short, I have to be comfortable to juggle, and I wasn't. I asked my boyfriend to take some photos. Most of them I hated but here are 2. The problem with the juggling photos is my body is in them, and I just feel lumpy. I just wasn't happy in my own skin today.

Make Juggling Balls

This looks like a fun way to make juggling beanbags out of scraps. Make Juggling Balls I may have to try this.

Okay, I got the fabrics cut and the first sides sewn together but at this point the photo tutorial completely loses me, so I found this one with more photos. Hopefully that will get me off top dead center.

History of Juggling

I'm doing some research on the history of juggling and trying to find documentation of leather juggling bags. This Wikipedia page is amusing and useful to me. History of Juggling. I have some great repurposed suede to use for juggling balls.

I want to start a new business that sells juggling props made by hand for SCA and Renaissance aficionados and also belly dancing accessories.