Eric Jones received a warm welcome for his live Zoom lecture for the March 2021 meeting of IBM Ring 216. It was a large and diverse audience, yet his presentation was designed for all skill levels and he generously answered questions on every effect.
He opened by changing a catalog picture of a coin into a real coin, leaving a blank space behind. Then, with the greatest detail, he taught his coin routine in which three fly from hand to hand. Although it involved some sophisticated techniques, he taught every move and everyone was able to learn from it. Notable was his care and thoroughness in giving credit to the magicians whose creations he had built on.
Eric then moved to cards and a very magical-looking assembly of the aces. He spoke on the subject of creating conviction for Zoom magic, including using a deck that he had mailed out previously to participants for shuffling. He explained a sleight-free version of a Paul Harris effect in which a signed selected card, trapped between two other cards, disappears and reappears. Eric also presented a bare hand production of a Sharpie marker and, as a knuckle-buster, some work on Fred Robinson’s rising card.
Among the many questions Eric answered, beyond those related to the effects taught, were what to do about finger windows (his solutions include jewelry), his appearances on America’s Got Talent and Penn and Teller (in which he had presented his favorite effect), how he performs for people in social situations, and his favorite magic books, among which he rates Ascanio’s highly.
