Title: At the Drop of a Hat: When Work Becomes Play

Price: NFS

Medium: Sculpture

Short Description: A giant magician’s hat turns everyday work into performance, celebrating bold ideas, playful scale, and a self-portrait revealed through unexpected objects.

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Explanation of Work

Originally created as a working prop, this oversized magician’s hat has grown into something more—a reflection of enthusiasm, reinvention, and the joy of fully showing up.

Built in the spirit of “dramatizing your ideas,” the piece draws from vintage salesmanship and performance, where presence and personality were as important as the product itself.

Today, that same spirit carries into a different kind of stage: Chamber of Commerce meetings across the metroplex. Picture me entering a room full of strangers while carrying a ridiculous, impossible-to-miss magician’s hat—sparking amusement, curiosity, and the inevitable question, “What in the world is going on here?”

At its core, the piece celebrates the idea that a job becomes a dream not by title alone, but through the energy, creativity, and people surrounding it. It also reflects the courage required to stand out from the crowd, take an unconventional approach, and trust that it just might work. And even if it doesn’t, I know I did my best.

Sometimes, the magic isn’t in what you do—it’s in how you choose to do it. And sometimes, it shows up at the drop of a hat.

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The hat is sponsored in part by Home Run Pest & Termite Control and Abracadabra Lawn Pest & Weed Control. I am deeply grateful to the owners, whose encouragement and support have given me the opportunity to thrive in this role. And, of course, to Dale Carnegie North Texas, which gave me the tools to transform ordinary elevator pitches into full-blown 30-second productions. (Dramatize your ideas. Do your very best. Put enthusiasm into your work.)

I have more tricks up my sleeve… err, hat….

Visit Play in person from May 9–June 6, 2026, at the Lewisville Grand Theater, 100 N. Charles, St., Lewisville, TX. Be sure to peek inside the hat for special objects that reveal clues to an even bigger story.

The Visual Art League of Lewisville will host Conversations with Artists, where I’ll share more about the inspiration and meaning behind this piece.

Follow the Visual Art League of Lewisville on Instagram for upcoming details. While you’re at it, follow Home Run and Abracadabra for Chamber Hops and other fun posts.

For art enthusiasts, this piece is functional art in the Duchampian tradition.