Welcome to My World!

02-02-2020

Today is Sunday, February 2, 2020, and I guess this is a good date as any to jumpstart my magic blog.

Our webmaster (Lisa Caterbone from netmouser.com) is an SEO expert and has been pushing me for quite a while to write a blog. Most of my writings and observations have been posted on Facebook and Instagram. In such social media platforms, I have a small audience who I know and follows my small antics and accomplishments.

Writing a blog, for me, is quite intimidating. First, I am not a disciplined writer. I am spontaneous observer of life. I write when I have the urge to do so. Blogs require discipline, and I just don’t know if someone out there would be reading or even care about what I have to say.

This entry is about introducing myself again. My formal education is a degree in technical theater, which means that I am a stage manager and carpenter. Most of the carpentry I did was quick and entailed a lot of platforms and flats for theatrical sets.

Soon after graduating, I realized that theater did not pay the bills, so to make a living, I went back to what was my “informal” education that I learned since the age of four: That of being a magician. In one way or another, my whole life was related to magic: I have worked in magic shops and prop making workshops, in theme parks, have done corporate work, private parties, bar magic, walk around gigs, etc.

In 1995, I dated a gentleman who would later become my husband: Norm Nielsen. He is a legend in the magic world, who specializes in sleight of hand. He performed what is called a “manipulation act”, and made a living with it for over forty years all over the world. Apart from that he has had manufacturing business since 1956.

I eventually became part of his company, managed it, and with him as a team we traveled the world performing magic and selling our products.

Norm finally decided to retire the act at the end of 2008, and since then we both decided to stop traveling.

The above decision was liberating, as I could now stay at home and pursue things that I wanted to master in life.

One such thing was fine woodworking – the woodworking beyond the crude set carpentry I learned in the past. I wanted to learn woodworking in terms of fine craftsmanship, using wood as an expression of my personality and soul.

I started taking classes in a local woodworking school in 2011, and I have not looked back. The classes and assistance at the school, provided me with a good foundation for continuing my goal of attempting to achieve mastery in this craft.

The question now is: Have I achieved mastery? I don’t think so… I have become really good at the things I have accomplished, but I don’t yet consider myself a true master. You see, I am currently enamored more with the “process”, “path” and “routine” of attempting to achieve a goal which I might never reach. I enjoy this “hobby” in a very profound way and practice it for its sake. The sake being that of expressing myself through wood, and providing a lasting tangible piece of myself for our clients and the world at large.

Another problem I had in getting my blogs started is that I have way too many interests – woodworking, magic, gardening, cooking, history, theology, computers, and even astrology! I still have my magic job, and do have the woodworking as well, and the twain cannot co-exist in one place. In the nnmagic.com blog, I will be posting about things related to our magic business, and the magic tricks in general that we make and build. There is much jargon that is not part of what can be used for the general public. Woodworking on the other hand is more general and organic. For that, I will post on my iworkwithwood.com website.

To top things off… In the last five years, our business has become a one-woman operation. Unfortunately, my husband has been afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. Right now, I am a sole provider and I am a full time caretaker for him. My health is also failing, as I am currently losing my eyesight due to an incurable condition, and going blind.

So there you have it… I have to maintain two blogs:
www.nnmagic.com – About magic, magicians, vintage magic posters, and all things historical about our magic craft.
www.iworkwithwood.com – More personal, about my pursuit of excellence in a craft I have always wanted to master, and perhaps my observations of life in general.

You can also follow me on social media at:
Facebook: Nielsen Magic (which is our business) and Lupe Nielsen (keep in mind that I would like to meet you and know about you before I friend you on my personal FB page).
Instagram: @nnmagic.lupe

At times my writings will coincide with each other as in duplicating content between platforms, and in other occasions things will bifurcate. There is no reason in posting processes involving cutting boards in the magic website, in the same way that the audience for the woodworking would not care about the latest card trick using a double undercut to find the selected card. Lol! I will do my best to post weekly in either or in both blog platforms.

If you are part of my audience, starting now, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for following me. There is so much information out there, that the few minutes that you take to read my content is highly appreciated. Time is a gift, and I will try to reward your valuable time with worthwhile content.

Welcome to my world!

(February 2, 2020)