Stuart Palm

Stuart Palm was born and raised in the small town of Dunedin, a Floridian enclave ruled over by rogue Scottish sailors and artists. One of his earliest memories is of his uncle causing coins and cookies to disappear, and then amazingly pulling them out of Stuart's ear. Feeling at once baffled and determined to learn his uncle's secret, the three year old Stuart began asking for everyone's pennies and then making them vanish. It wasn't until his grandmother decided to change his diaper that she found it full of copper coins. Growing up, Stuart and his family spent many holidays at Chassahowitzka, a nearby river known in local legends as "The Swamp". Here, houses were built on stilts over water, sideshow performers roamed the streets, and sometimes it was even possible to catch a glimpse of real live mermaids. At night, the locals never failed to sit down to a friendly game of poker, and this was where young Stuart fell in love with all the mystery of a deck of cards. Stuart's family spent their summers in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Here Stuart discovered his first magic shop and also took the time to befriend a clan of renegade Barnum & Baileys circus clowns and vaudeville style performers. In Tennessee Stuart spent much time investigating mysterious artifacts, hiking through the great mountains and developing both his craft as an artist and a showman. At eighteen, deciding to focus his energy on all forms of Visual and Performance Arts, Stuart entered the Maryland Institute of Art. Amidst his easels one day and energized by paint fumes, Stuart had an epiphany that the artist was a modern Shaman, whose calling was to connect laymen to the mysteries of the imagination and the mind. Upon moving to New York City, Stuart decided to devote himself to Magic and uncovering all the powers and possibilities of the human brain. In 2006, the unimaginable happened: Stuart Palm was beset by a series of Grand Mal seizures and had to undergo brain surgery. Through his recovery, Stuart was surprised to discover that not only did he emerge with all his learned abilities intact, but the experience had increased his capacity to understand the human condition, to connect with peoples memories and thoughts. Now, on a given evening, you can find him thrilling audiences with unforgettable feats of memory, mind-reading, and magic, or as Stuart calls it "Presticogitation." A particular inspiration for Stuart has been a poster of Albert Einstein sticking his tongue out, accompanied by the words: "Imagination is more important then knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."