Art

Art  EVENT

Clockwise from left: Middle Tennessee Magic Club, Master Magician Alan Fisher, Blaine Little

More Tricks Than Treats

Magicians invite all to attend local club and learn the art of magic

BY BLAINE LITTLE

WITH HALLOWEEN NOT FAR AWAY, our attention may turn to ghosts and goblins. But monsters are not the only things worthy of our curiosity. It is also a wonderful time for the amazement that magicians can conjure! Whether they are illusionists, escape artists, close-up card tricksters, mentalists or quick-change, classical stage or street magicians, they come in all sorts.

Many in Murfreesboro may be surprised to learn that there is a local club that celebrates artistic magic all year-round. The Sam Walkoff Ring of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, #252 has been in Rutherford County since 1984. What’s more surprising is the vast amount of true talent within the club. Many members have performed on large stages in Las Vegas, and others still work professionally with local parties and events. Also referred to as the Middle Tennessee Magic Club, the organization itself has been delighting audiences with trickery for decades.

One of those performances is the annual Paul McCallie Memorial Veterans Show, a series started back in November of 2009 (by myself and other club members). Each year, about three or four of these talented tricksters perform in one of the dayrooms at the Alvin C. York VA Medical Center. The room is always packed! Then, the team will make room visits to those who were too infi rm to attend. The entertainment is provided each year on Nov. 11, Veterans Day. This annual event was especially important to club member Paul McCallie, a walking encyclopedia of magic and Vietnam veteran whose stage name was the Amazing Maurice. McCallie passed away in 2017, but the club decided to name the show in his honor.

The magicians organization also performs publicly throughout the year, so keep an eye out for their next show. In the meantime, budding magicians who would like to hone their craft can visit the club meetings. The monthly meetings are at 7:02 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month in the Linebaugh Library just off of the Murfreesboro Public Square. It’s a great time, fi lled with laughter and fellow magicians who are willing to help others.

“The local club is a launch point for new magicians,” Alan Fisher says. “It provides you with a safe place to fail so you can perfect your performance for the public.”

Alan would know. He is one of the world’s top 10 performers in parlor magic and ranked as No. 2 in the U.S.

There is even a way for children, seven years and older, to get in on the act. The Amazing Abner Youth Magic Club meets from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. on the second Saturday of each month, again at the Linebaugh Library. At each meeting, kids will receive a new trick and are shown how to perform it. It all culminates with a show the kids themselves perform in December. It’s always fun and there is no cost to join.

Stage magic is a wonderful art to practice year-round. Learn more about members of the Middle Tennessee Magic Club at ibmring252.com, especially if you would like to hire one for a party this holiday season. Catch them before they disappear!

Learn more about Blaine Little, a member of IBM 252, at magicmentalist.com.

Art  EVENT

Clockwise from top left: Glass pumpkins by Desi Renemsnyder; Clutch purse by Sylvayne Roh; Bracelet by Kathy Bradley

Oct. 9 Autumn Art Tour Includes Various Murfreesboro Art Studios and Stores

JUST IN TIME TO ADD to autumn’s resplendent colors, Murfreesboro’s Art Tour is back with an October date.

“This is a companion event with our May Art Tour,” says Church Street Gallery coowner Eric Snyder, “and it features several art-related businesses around the square and artists from November’s Art Studio Tour participating.”

The idea for doing the Art Tour for a second time this year came from participants from May’s Art Tour and additional artists from the Stones River Crafts Association. After considering the potential of doing an early October event, the group decided that the Autumn Art Tour would be held Saturday, Oct. 9, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

The Art Tour features a number of guest artists at each location, showcasing artwork and other products. A Saturday pop-up event in Graffiti Alley hosted by Church Street Gallery will feature graffiti artists in the open green space near the intersection of Church and College Streets, just off the Murfreesboro Public Square. These selected artists will contribute their creative energies to a section of the wall space of Murfreesboro’s famed “Graffiti Alley.”

“We wanted to do an event that showcases what’s in Graffiti Alley, and how this area behind an art gallery can unite artists of all backgrounds to raise the standing of what many consider vandalism into what should be considered genuine works of art,” Eric explains. “And, since we’re looking to make it intimate, we felt that having the event entitled ‘Consensual Vandalism’ as a one-day event—where the public could participate and mingle with these artists—would make for a great bridge-building exercise between the community and these artists.”

He and other Autumn Art Tour participants seek to highlight the community’s wealth of talent and to encourage everyone to buy local. ART TOUR STOPS: Church Street Gallery 124 N. Church St. M&J Home 124 N. Spring St. Murfreesboro Art League Gallery at Cannonsburgh 312 S. Front St. Studio S Pottery 1426 Avon Rd. Blue Pony Art Studio 88 Hoyt Knox Rd., Readyville Daffodilly Design 3 Webb Rd., Bell Buckle

 EXHIBIT

Young Artist Rainbow Mosho to Exhibit at Just Love Coffee Cafe Through Oct. 15

JUST LOVE COFFEE CAFE Murfreesboro East welcomes the art of Rainbow Mosho this October.

View the exhibit from the young artist Oct. 3–15.

Rainbow says she creates art to feel safe, emphasize her uniqueness and to share her emotions.

“I have something to say. My art expresses my emotions. I want other kids to relate to my experiences and fi nd hope with my creations,” Mosho says.

Presently, the artist lives in Middle Tennessee. Rainbow Mosho was born Thomais Mosho in Athens, Greece, in 2008. She was developing like any other child. But at 30 months, she had a massive regression and autism became a part of her life.

Dyslexia has also challenged her. The child learned to read in late 2016 and 2017 at almost 9 years old.

Mosho has now self-published three books. She paints, draws and runs daily and loves dinosaurs, whales and the Titanic.

Her love of color and art led to her Rainbow Mosho persona.

“Nothing is impossible,” Yadira, her mom, says. “We can always fi nd a solution. Her goal is to see her art and books used as tools to support kids’ mental health.” Recent experiences with travel, weddings, horse therapy and COVID-19 have inspired the artist’s recent work. The Moshos acknowledge the massive support that Borderless Arts TN has provided Rainbow and other kids through workshops, as well as presenting the Just Love exhibit. Just Love is located at 129 MTCS Rd., Murfreesboro. Meet Rainbow Mosho at the exhibit on Friday, Oct. 8, 6–8 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 9, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 10, 4–6 p.m.; and Friday, Oct. 15, after 6 p.m.

For more information on Rainbow Mosho, visit rainbowmosho.com or fi nd her books on Amazon.