DrexFactor Poi

Back in January, I took on the challenge of posting a video of a new trick to Instagram each and every day for 31 days (the challenge was originally for 30 days, but hey, prime numbers!). This was a fun challenge that really helped to deepen my palette of tricks with double staff and explore in depth a number of concepts that I'd only scratched the surface on or never thought to combine together before.

You’ve been rocking out your prop for weeks or even months. You’ve picked up so many tricks that amaze both you and your friends. You’ve worked hard and have seen so many results from that effort.

But then it all comes to a grinding halt.

Suddenly practice feels like a slog--hard work with little benefit seen. You either can’t find any new tricks you want to learn or those you do seem maddeningly out of reach. Your passion and energy are starting to ebb...it can be only one thing. You’ve hit the dreaded plateau!

You’ve seen those rock stars out on the burn field, dancing with fire like they were born to it. You’ve gotten ahold of your own tool and you’ve had your first lesson--now the important question: when are you ready to spin fire?

For so many of us, the fire is the hook that draws us in. It is a primal element that makes us stand up and go: Wow, I want to do that! Many of us, when we first light up, want to look like the people who inspired us--spinning effortlessly and beautifully to an adoring crowd.

“If you want to become a great writer, write every day.”

The origins of this quote are so deeply shrouded in the past for me that I can’t remember where I first heard it. A cursory search suggests that Stephen King may be the source of it, but there’s no way for me to be sure that’s where I first heard it.

Ghost trails are a great tool for visualizing many of the tricks we play with as flow artists, regardless of the prop. Over the past few years, I've become acquainted with 5 different approaches for creating these trails using video post-production and I'm starting a video series exploring all these options. The first one is the Luminancer app for iOS--a useful app for creating LED or fire trails but one that comes with some pretty severe limitations. See my full video on the topic below: