SoCal magician loses job, then reaches new heights building treehouses during pandemic

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- During the pandemic, a Southern California man lost his job but found his artistic passion in a higher place.

Eric Buss was able to find purpose building a fun-filled palace of sorts on a tree.

One of the most beautiful parts of childhood is being free to dream. And what better place to do it, than a castle in the sky? That's where Buss comes in.

Using his woodworking skills, he builds treehouses. He's a master at work - studying the tree, contemplating his approach, and then sculpting it.

This artistry all started with the pandemic. When he lost his job, Buss tried to stay busy.

"I built my son a treehouse for his eighth birthday. I took pictures, put them on Facebook, and then word caught on. Everyone started wanting tree houses," he said.

It gave him purpose after the coronavirus so suddenly took his cherished job away.

"It was sad but we all collected our props, went home and the world was shut down," said Buss.

Buss' real job is a magician. He's been on television a lot and was also a regular performer at the Magic Castle. So, when it shut down, it was almost magical how something suddenly appeared in his life to fill the void.

"When I learned that I could do something else that actually fed my soul and made me happy, it was eye opening," said Buss. "And as sad as it was to lose all my magic gigs, I literally thought wait a minute, I could do other things that make me completely happy."

The pandemic had him thinking the magic had come to an end, when actually, he was just taking his act on the road, doing exactly what he was made to do: create magic.

In this case, since he couldn't go to his own Magic Castle, he decided to build them for little ones who, during these tough times, could use a little magic in their lives.