The humble practice of bubble-making has been raised to an art form by Casey Carle, a full-time bubble artist.
In the mix of soap and water, Carle has found a career.
Last week, he shared his creations with students at Tiogue Elementary School.
Using everything from an elastic to a hula hoop to make bubbles, Carle entertained a gymnasium full of students.
The crowd of youngsters that had gathered on the floor of the gymnasium let out a steady stream of "ooohhhs" and "aaahhhs" as Carle did his thing - making bubble snakes in excess of 8 feet long, bubble crystal balls, bubble caterpillars, bubble ice cream cones, and bubble flying saucers.
"This truly is not magic," Carle said. "It only looks like magic because I am really, really, really good at it, but, actually, any one of you could do this."
Carle has performed in museums and schools around the world, as well as at countless venues with the Ringling Brothers/Barnum and Bailey Circus.
As Carle created, he explained to the students how bubbles take their shape and what they really are and shared tips on how to make bubble creations of their own.
"All bubbles really are is trapped air - air that is trapped in either a liquid or a solid," Carle said.
A basketball, he said, is a bubble and so are a balloon, a soccer ball and a volleyball.
He explained to the students why bubbles are always round - because, he said, that is their natural shape [bubbles always take the shape with the least possible surface area]. He divulged his recipe for bubble making - soap and water - and told the students that the soap film on his bubbles is 100 times thinner than a single sheet of paper.
He even allowed one student to experience his bubble-making talents firsthand. Brooke Keresztessy, a second grader at the school, was invited on stage to be a part of the show.
As asked, Keresztessy stepped on a platform that Carle had set inside a low circular pool of bubbles at the front of the gymnasium.
Carle set a hula hoop in the pool of bubbles around Keresztessy and told her and the students to count with him to three. On three, he lifted the hula hoop over Keresztessy's head, forming a complete bubble around her.
"That was awesome," Keresztessy said. "I was kind a scared at first, but it wasn't scary at all. I got all wet, though."
Students and teachers in the audience said they were very impressed with Carle and his bubbles. Carle was invited to the school by the PTA through a cultural arts grant program.