MoB’s Artists @ Home Residency – Week Three

May 26, 2020 | anna jacobson

I’m writing about my creative process this week! Below are the photographs I took, documenting my family’s Passover Seder table. These photographs and visual records helped me write my poems.

Artist in action (photo by David Jacobson)

After the documentation and writing process, I then recorded my voiceover reading the poems. The next stage is to create the animations. I visualise what I would like to go with each line of poetry, and focus on an image or action. I draw each image into photoshop, which makes it easier to erase and add lines onscreen. I turn these drawings into a stop motion animation with video software, by adjusting each image-length to match the flow of the poem.

Progress Shot – Why is this Passover Night Different? Video Poem

I look forward to sharing more updates with you next week!

MoB’s Artists @ Home Residency – Week Two

May 19, 2020 | anna jacobson

Below is my week two work-in-progress from my video poem ‘Why is this Passover Night Different?’, as part of MoB’s Artists @ Home Residency. I was inspired by the experience of cooking matzah balls with my Mum this year.

To create this animation, I used digital collage techniques. I cut out the matzah ball shape from my photograph of my family’s matzah ball dish in Photoshop using the ‘lasso’ tool. I then created the matzah ball animation, with each matzah ball on a different Photoshop layer. I moved each matzah ball over a sequence of twelve images to replicate the process of cooking matzah balls in the special pot.

My mother’s Matzah Balls cooking in special pots (this photograph was my inspiration)

Matzah Ball Soup! Delicious. This is my photograph from our family Passover Seder

Stay tuned for next week’s update!

MoB’s Artists @ Home Residency – Week One

May 13, 2020May 13, 2020 | anna jacobson

Welcome to my week one update! Below is an animation-sketch from the opening of my video poem, ‘Festive Meal’, which I am creating thanks to MoB’s Artists @ Home Residency. This looped sequence contains seventeen drawings!

Usually I would peel twenty eggs for the Passover meal; one egg for each person. As we couldn’t celebrate Passover with our extended family during Covid-19, this year there were only four eggs to peel (one for me, my brother, mother and father). Traditionally, each egg is chopped into a small bowl of salt water, and is the first course of the meal. By visually sharing my experience of ‘peeling eggs’ for Passover, I hope to set the scene for the rest of my video poem ‘Festive Meal’, which will capture my experience of having Passover at home.

I look forward to sharing more of my inspirations, updates, and work-in-progress samples next week!

Museum of Brisbane -Artists @ Home Residency

May 7, 2020 | anna jacobson

I am very grateful to the Museum of Brisbane for selecting me as one of ten finalists for MoB’s Artists @ Home Residency.

Over the next six weeks, I will work on writing and animating two video poems: ‘Why is this Passover Night Different?’ and ‘Festive Meal’, created from my home studio. These works are based on my experience of celebrating Passover during the pandemic. Passover is an important time in the Jewish calendar when my extended family gets together for Seder night. This year was very different.

I will post updates and samples of my progress each week. I look forward to sharing my work with you! Check out the Museum of Brisbane’s website here for more details.

Memoir through Poetry Workshop, 26 July 2020

May 1, 2020May 1, 2020 | anna jacobson

I’m very excited to be running an upcoming online ZOOM poetry workshop through the wonderful Avid Reader. Book your place here.

Join me online on Sunday 26 July from 1pm-4pm, as we explore using our memories as a springboard for writing poetry.

This poetry workshop will include a talk about my experience of writing memoir poetry, a poetry reading from my collection Amnesia Findings, poetry exercises and prompts, and I will leave time to answer all questions poetry.

This workshop will focus on:

– The dark and light of memoir poetry.
– Memory (and gaps in memory) and how poetry is the perfect form to express these short vignettes.
– Our poetry journeys and how we came to poetry or how poetry found us.
– Storytelling through poetry and snapshots we can use from our lives to inspire poems.
– Reclaiming a sense of agency for our stories through poetry by working through ideas and experiences we want to understand further.
– Using simple language and vivid imagery in poetry to evoke strong emotional responses.

To book a place, visit the Avid Reader website here. I look forward to seeing you!

Melbourne Jewish Book Week 2020

March 28, 2020March 28, 2020 | anna jacobson

I had been looking forward to appearing at Melbourne Jewish Book Week this year. The program looked amazing. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and like all my writing friends launching books and appearing in festivals, these events have been cancelled to protect everyone’s safety.

You can still order a copy of my debut poetry collection Amnesia Findings here, and check out what would have been an amazing program here.

Finalist in the 2019 Marie Ellis Prize for Drawing

March 25, 2020 | anna jacobson

In 2019, I was honoured to be a finalist in the Marie Ellis Prize for Drawing. My drawing ‘Self-portrait while Depressed’ was exhibited at the Project Gallery, Queensland College of Art.

I was going through a period of depression and decided to draw a series of self-portraits. Created over a thirty-four minute period, the process of drawing quickly turned cathartic as I realised how humorous and quirky the portraits were becoming. As the line drawings became more funny and free, I began to feel lighter.

2019 Word for Word National Non-fiction Festival

November 19, 2019November 19, 2019 | anna jacobson

The 2019 Word for Word National Non-Fiction Festival was directed by the wonderful Rochelle Smith and held at the Geelong Library and Heritage Centre from 15-17 November. I was invited to be on a poetry panel (Rhythm and Language) with poet Andy Jackson, and facilitator of the panel David McCooey.

David McCooey, Anna Jacobson and Andy Jackson (photo credit: Sari Jacobson)

I travelled with Mum from Brisbane to Geelong. We saw many stimulating and thought-provoking discussions and events. These included Tyson Yunkaporta’s opening address, which drew on his book Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World. As a diary keeper, I also loved The Bad Diaries Salon. Another highlight for us was the Bodies of Work panel with Lee Kofman and Andy Jackson, facilitated by Maria Takolander.

Anna at the opening night of the Word for Word Festival (photo credit: Sari Jacobson)

I was so grateful to be part of this fabulous non-fiction festival, especially as my poetry collection Amnesia Findings draws on so many facets of my life. The crowd was warm, asked good questions and I was touched by their kind comments after the panel.

Anna and Andy (Photo credit: Sari Jacobson)

Signing Table (Photo credit: Sari Jacobson)

Launch and Upcoming Author Events

August 26, 2019August 26, 2019 | anna jacobson

Thank you everyone who celebrated the launch of my poetry collection Amnesia Findings with me at the Queensland Poetry Festival. I could feel your beautiful support filling the Judith Wright Centre. I had a wonderful time and it was a very special day.

My beautiful family. Photo credit: Linda Cartmill

Anna with friend and poet David Stavanger. Photo by David Jacobson

Anna with friends at launch. Photo credit: Josh Corsbie

Thank you to my creative editor and mentor Felicity Plunkett for sending these beautiful flowers in the lead up to my launch.

If you couldn’t make the launch, do not worry—you can order Amnesia Findings here and there are plenty more author events coming up in September!

On 6 September 2019 from 5.30-6.30pm at Brisbane Square Library, I will be reading from Amnesia Findings. Books will be available for sale.

I will also be the featured reader on 19 September 2019 at 6pm at Wynnum Library’s Poets Up Late night.

On 24 September 2019 at 6.30 pm I will be reading and talking about my creative process at Riverbend’s Flash Fiction/Non fiction and Poetry night with writer Amanda O’Callaghan.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Anna’s Book Launch Details – Save the Date!

July 13, 2019 | anna jacobson

Dear family, friends and lovers of poetry,
The book launch of my first full-length poetry collection Amnesia Findings (UQP, 2019) will be held on Saturday 24 August 2.30-3.30pm at the Judith Wright Centre during the Queensland Poetry Festival. My launch will be accompanied by a screening of my short poetry films. You can access the festival and launch with a day pass of $10 here. You can read more about Amnesia Findings here.

If attending the book launch, you are welcome to buy a copy of Amnesia Findings on the day at the festival, or if you can’t make the launch and wish to preorder, you will receive your copy in early September. Hope you can make it along and looking forward to seeing you there!