Page 44 Summer 1997
The juggling book ("Juggling for the Complete Klutz") was originally written as a class lesson, basically, in 1977 for a high school class in Mountain View, Calif. It was a mimeographed deal. And then it was expanded upon. The inspiration came from running rivers where I and some other friends would teach passengers how to juggle. And that was obviously a popular item... I just decided I would do a little thing on juggling, something for (my students) to read. And they enjoyed that... Right about that time I was also sewing up bean bags and selling them along with lessons for free on White Plaza, Stanford's central plaza... So I decided it was time to try a book... I ran off 3,000 copies and had some local ladies do the sewing... I came back the next day just to see my book on the shelves and I couldn't find them anywhere. The owner gestured me over and said, "I need some more. They all sold." At that point visions of capitalistic sugar plums went dancing through my head. That might have been the highlight of the whole thing. Sold over a million now. But those first six, they were the best! "Empire Man - John Cassidy, Juggling for the Complete Klutz" (Juggler's World, Spring 1992)
The main point I want to make is that you must understand the reason you do what you do, whether you do it on stage or on TV or locked away in a room somewhere. One of the biggest treasures you have is that you never forget how difficult it was to learn something. The things most meaningful to me took me through entirely new directions of technique. But if you just see someone else do it and imitate them without going through the process, it takes a severe slice out of your imagination. I don't think anyone's creative process is enhanced by taking that easiest route.
Process to me is the most sacred thing any artist can have. I consider myself an artist because I take risks and it means more to me than life itself to plow through those risks. I believe that if you do it right, developing a technique by taking a risk and giving up a part of your life going after it, you can discover some of the bedrock of humanity. You'll know you've reached that bedrock and everyone else will know it also. You can go all over the world performing that technique and you'll be able to tell that it pulls people out of themselves. "Moschen Searches His Soul For Creative Spark" (Juggler's World, Fall 1992)
"As I started, I just wanted something that would work, but the more I got involved with it, I tended to be more perfectionistic about it, and wanted to have something as good as the other clubs that were around. I ended up spending more money and more time than maybe I needed to." By the time he finished the clubs, Brian Dube', who then made his living as a leatherworker, had invested in some tools and agreed to sell the clubs to his friend for $10 apiece rather than splitting cost. A prop maker was born." "Propmaking Pioneer Adjusts to Changes All round" (Juggler's World, Summer 1996) |
Albert Lucas's dedication to joggling has taken juggling down new roads. |