Uvi Poznansky's Blog, page 272

Stages in Composition

What is the most improbable composition you can come up with, I asked myself--only to come up with an answer that could not have satisfied me: 

This is a charcoal on paper two-piece composition, attempting to combine two drawings, which I have posted here before: the first in a post called Seaweed as a Source of Inspiration, the second in a post called The First Time She Laid Eyes on Him. The reason I find composition so challenging here is because each one of the  original drawings occupied the center of the paper, and so both of them would be fighting to remain the focus of attention.
After several additional attempts I had my heart set on the composition shown below. This I executed as an oil painting.

The underpinning of this painting is the idea that you cannot immediately resolve which is the foreground, which the background. Who is dreaming whom? Is the woman imagining the strange sea-creature, or is he imagining her? They appear head to head, but neither one is solid. Each one of them is half-transparent, allowing the outlines of the other one to shine through its own body. 

There is only one place you can resolve as 'real', only one place where it is clear that one figure is casting a shadow on top of the other. This place is the woman's right ankle. I left it as the only 'solid' clue to this reality, because it is in this spot that the woman takes a step forward, into this imaginary scene of bewilderment and wonder...

*
Note: to listen to my interview was with the host of Conversations LIVE! Radio, Cyrus Webb, click here. 

The First Time She Laid Eyes on Him...

"The minute our eyes met, I knew what to do: so I stopped in the middle of what I was doing, which was dusting off the glass shield over the ice cream buckets, and stacking up waffle cones here and sugar cones there. From the counter I grabbed a bunch of paper tissues, and bent all the way down, like, to pick something from the floor. Then with a swift, discrete shove, I stuffed the tissues into one side of my bra, then the other, ‘cause I truly believe in having them two scoops—if you know what I mean—roundly and firmly in place.     Having a small chest is no good: men seem to like girls with boobs that bulge out. It seems to make an awful lot of difference, especially at first sight, which you can always tell by them customers, drooling."

This is a flashback to the time Anita, the young woman in Apart From Love, first laid eyes on Lenny, a man much older than her, and married. A few minutes later she finds herself fired from her job, on account of kissing him--and an hour later, they are alone in her mother's one-bedroom apartment:
"He turned to me the minute I untied my pony tail, and told me I reminded him of a girl he used to know, and would I like to dance. I stepped out of my shoes and into his arms, and before he could say anything I slipped out of my dress, too. I thought I looked, like, a little too slender in my panties, so I told him to close his eyes—but at this point, because of being so aroused, and trying so hard not to show it, I forgot all about them tissues at each side of my bra, which now and again, made a slight swoosh. Later I wondered if he wondered about that."


This is a charcoal on paper drawing. It is my easiest medium for drawing, as I am looking for light and shadows in the human form. In a day or two I will post the oil painting inspired by this drawing. 

The First Time She Laid Eye on Him...

"The minute our eyes met, I knew what to do: so I stopped in the middle of what I was doing, which was dusting off the glass shield over the ice cream buckets, and stacking up waffle cones here and sugar cones there. From the counter I grabbed a bunch of paper tissues, and bent all the way down, like, to pick something from the floor. Then with a swift, discrete shove, I stuffed the tissues into one side of my bra, then the other, ‘cause I truly believe in having them two scoops—if you know what I mean—roundly and firmly in place.     Having a small chest is no good: men seem to like girls with boobs that bulge out. It seems to make an awful lot of difference, especially at first sight, which you can always tell by them customers, drooling."

This is a flashback to the time Anita, the young woman in Apart From Love, first laid eyes on Lenny, a man much older than her, and married. A few minutes later she finds herself fired from her job, on account of kissing him--and an hour later, they are alone in her mother's one-bedroom apartment: 
"He turned to me the minute I untied my pony tail, and told me I reminded him of a girl he used to know, and would I like to dance. I stepped out of my shoes and into his arms, and before he could say anything I slipped out of my dress, too. I thought I looked, like, a little too slender in my panties, so I told him to close his eyes—but at this point, because of being so aroused, and trying so hard not to show it, I forgot all about them tissues at each side of my bra, which now and again, made a slight swoosh. Later I wondered if he wondered about that."


This is a charcoal on paper drawing. It is my easiest medium for drawing, as I am looking for light and shadows in the human form. In a day or two I will post the oil painting inspired by this drawing. 

Ambiguity

I see him in my mindHe moves, he stirs tonight But when I come to him, Our limbs entwined That arm wraps around me It holds me and controls me—Can we take flight?
The beauty of ballet is how effortlessly the dancers seems to soar in the air. So in one sense, this verse (and the bronze sculpture inspired by it) is about the illusion presented to us by bounds and leaps, by the ingenious choreography and the virtuosity of the dancers. But in a larger sense, this verse is about the way we relate to one another. Can she take flight without the support he offers--or else, is it his hold that holds her back?
The sculpture takes this ambiguity to an ultimate extreme, because as you may notice, the body of the male dancer is entirely porous, and worse--it is disconnected: The torso is completely separate from the hips, it hovers in space in utter discontinuity! You, the viewer, are invited to 'connect the dots'... It is, in fact, her body that holds him--not the other way around. If not for her, his upper body would be in pieces on the floor...





An earlier post, A Peek Into My Studio, is where you will find the oil-based clay model for this sculpture. 

New 5-Star Review of Apart From Love

A new 5-star review has been posted today for Apart From Love, This time by a reader named Riqu:

"Intriguing, original story, Apart From Love is written in a way that grabs your attention and captures your imagination. The story, written from 3 different perspectives, brings the characters to life. The language skillfully adapts to the character it portrays and keeps you on edge. The attention Uvi Posnanski pays to details makes the book - a real treat!
I've enjoyed it very much."

Amazon's New Algorithms

I have just found an excellent article by David Gaughran, an 34-year old Irish writer, living in Sweden. David runs the publishing blog Let’s Get Digital and the South American history site South Americana, has a regular column at Indie Reader, and his work has been featured in theHuffington Post, The Sunday Times, and the Irish Times. 
The topic of the article is close to the heart of all of us writers, trying to make it in the world of literature today: Understanding Amazon’s New Algorithms Is As Easy As ABC

My Interview at Cowboy Wisdom Radio

I have just come off the air from my interview with the host  Cowboy Wisdom NLP Radio, Rob Wilson. Rob is a certified professional coach and motivational speaker, generating, facilitating, and illuminating life's possibilities in all people. He is a regular on the Stu Taylor Radio Show, 'Equity Strategies and Business Talk' and a published author of several books: The Wisdom of a Cowboy: Crossing the River and Climbing the Mountain, Wired for Change by a Journeyman and American Worker: Prison Wagesin the Private Sector. We talked not only about my book, Apart From Love, but also about creativity, which I described as a landscape, a zone surrounded by a wall. You can listen to my conversation with Rob here.

This is the third interview but somehow, it was far from being commonplace to me. Listening to his show I could tell that the conversation was going be relaxed and in more depth, simply because his interviews are generally conducted in a longer time slot--a full half hour--allowing the listeners the opportunity to open up to the subject.

My first radio interview was with the President of Conversations Book Club and the host of Conversations LIVE! Radio, Cyrus Webb. He is also a Top 1000 Amazon Reviewer and a participant of the Vine Voice program on Amazon, so I was very honored to get his offer to come on his show. You can listen to my conversation with Cyrus here.

My second radio interview was with the host of the Author's Hideaway, author Yolanda M Johnson-Bryant. She is a published author, freelance writer, columnist, novelist, editor, ghostwriter, literary, social media and entrepreneurial consultant and advocate, volunteer, Toastmaster and overall geek. You can listen to my conversation with Yolanda here.

My Next Radio Interview

I am so thrilled to let you know that my next radio interview is set to June 21st 8:00pm EST. The host of the show this time is Rob Wilson of Cowboy Wisdom NLP Radio. Rob is a certified professional coach and motivational speaker, generating, facilitating, and illuminating life's possibilities in all people. He is a regular on the Stu Taylor Radio Show, 'Equity Strategies and Business Talk' and a published author of several books: The Wisdom of a Cowboy: Crossing the River and Climbing the Mountain, Wired for Change by a Journeyman and American Worker: Prison Wagesin the Private Sector. The interview will air at 8:00pm EST.

This is the third interview but somehow, it is far from being commonplace to me. Listening to his show I can tell that the conversation will be relaxed and in more depth, simply because his interviews are generally conducted in a longer time slot--a full half hour--allowing the listeners the opportunity to open up to the subject.

My first radio interview was with the President of Conversations Book Club and the host of Conversations LIVE! Radio, Cyrus Webb. He is also a Top 1000 Amazon Reviewer and a participant of the Vine Voice program on Amazon, so I was very honored to get his offer to come on his show. You can listen to my conversation with Cyrus here.

My second radio interview was with the host of the Author's Hideaway, author Yolanda M Johnson-Bryant. She is a published author, freelance writer, columnist, novelist, editor, ghostwriter, literary, social media and entrepreneurial consultant and advocate, volunteer, Toastmaster and overall geek. You can listen to my conversation with Yolanda here.

Seaweed as a Source of Inspiration

From time to time I take long walks along the beach. On one of these occasions, a particular type of seaweed rotting down there, on the sand, caught my eye. It gave rise to a scene in Apart From Love, where Ben and his father go back to the place where they used to walk, back in Ben's early years: 

So I am standing there a long while, long enough for my father to have overtaken me already—but then, nothing. Finally I rush back, and there he is, in shallow water, wrapped in his black wool coat against the wind, collar flapping, hem dripping. He takes it off, and thrusts it into my hands. Then, precariously, he takes a step deeper, and points, “Look, over there!”Which is when I spot a beam of sunlight caught, somehow, by a grain of sand. It is shining there, as if through a diamond. Under that sparkle, protected from the surge by a jagged wall of rocks, is the pool: the tide pool, in which I used to splash my feet a long time ago, when I visited here as a child, with him. Dazed by the sight, and by the visions it brings out, in layer after layer of memories, I open my mouth and close it again, like a fish out of water. Meanwhile, my father wades out to the rocks, leans over the edge, and waves his hand to me with something cupped in it, part of which is dangling down. I am reluctant to ask, Well, what is it? So I glance at this thing, this seaweed which is dark green and somewhat fuzzy, because of the hair on its swollen fingers. One finger wraps around a second one, which twists around, coiling over itself, creating a loop through which a third one feels its way, nicking here, pricking there, trying to penetrate.“See?” he indicates. “Dead Man’s Fingers! Remember?”  

How to Convert Your Book from .epub to .mobi

Earlier this your I posted an article on Converting Your Story from Book to eBook. This time, I would like to let you know, fellow authors, that once you've got one ebook format, it is a piece of cake converting it to another. Should you get professional help? Heck, no!

Suppose you have your ebook in .epub format, which is an electronic publication standard used by reading tablets such as the iPad and the Nook. Now you wish to convert it to .mobi format, which is used by the Kindle. Here's what you do:
Download Kindle Previewer for free. This is a graphical user interface tool, that emulates (on your mac or PC) how books display across Kindle devices and apps.Once it is downloaded, open it. Then click File->Open Book, and select your .epub file. Having being converted to .mobi in the background, your book is being displayed in the Kindle Previewer. Quit Kindle Previewer. Go to the folder where your .epub file lives. A new folder has automatically been created there, and in that folder, you will find the automatically converted .mobi file. Walla!
Note: here is my interview on Ann Haines blog.