Victoire Absinthe may be a dame, but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have political ideals! She’s a red blooded American at heart- her brother was in the military, and she can’t help but agree with the “Better Dead Than Red” propaganda swelling through out the country. She saw this little number on the side of a convince store in the outskirts of Milwaukee. She was walking back to her hotel from the dance hall, where she worked periodically. She was tired of writing, and wanted to try something different.

In creating this image, I fundamentally didn’t want to do something boring. I like the shocking, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes I feel that forcing something usually doesn’t work. So! I found the background image (while looking for desktop images to be perfectly honest) and I found some Americana images and it just kind of came together. I use http://www.picmonkey.com when I edit pictures. It’s actually really nice, easy, and fun.

WANTED: Johnny “Corner Pocket” McCormick. McCormick is wanted in all of Boston for gambling with fraudulent money. McCormick has put down thousands of dollars in counterfeit money for gambling has come out losing nothing but fake money and winning real money. It is believed that he is heading to Las Vegas to continue this fraudulent gambling scheme. $10,000 reward if brought back to the Boston Police Station (preferably alive).

How I made the picture: I found a wanted sign template off of Google Images. I then I put the wanted sign picture and the picture I used to show Johnny Corner Pocket in last week’s post into photoshop. I cropped Johnny into the space provided and then added a sepia adjustment layer to make the poster more natural.

http://assignments.ds106.us/assignments/wanted-poster/

Essentials for Delilah’s life are identified as followed. Her clutch, EOS, gum, collection of lotions, Moroccan Oil for her hair, a bottle of Advil, and her inhaler. Each item has a story. Her clutch was bought for her by her boyfriend on their first vacation, cause she was going over-seas and needed something small and compact. That’s also where her EOS and various lotions came from, when her and her boyfriend had Christmas together, those were the stocking stuffers. The Moroccan Oil came from her best friend who was clearing her room to move to Alaska (she also needs it for her infamously unruly hair). The inhaler she’s needed since she was about 14, when she finally had access to a doctor and was diagnosed with Asthma. She’s basically grown out if it, but that inhaler saved her life a couple of times, so she still keeps it around. The Advil, well when she was going in to get her GED, she had some Advil on her and they confiscated it and almost kicked her off the school premise. She kept bringing it anyways, just hiding it better, and so she got in the habit of always having it on her. It reminds her, in her adult years of her little acts of rebellion as a teenager, and she looks back with fondness. Now for the bag its self. The wife of the man who owned the ranch she worked at, nicknamed Stormy, did a ton of missions work in Africa. Stormy established a library in an underdeveloped town, and had partnered with a local out reach. This out reach started a program that taught the families to make handbags, and various other trinkets, and sell them as a small income, instead of living in and accepting their poverty. Well Stormy got permission to bring back some bags, accessories, and trinkets and sell them in America. The funding’s would be funneled back to the program and families. And that’s Delilah

http://assignments.ds106.us/assignments/make-my-day/  (Three Stars)

My perfect day would include having breakfast at Tropical Smoothie, going on a hike with my family and dog, having lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings, helping out at an animal shelter, riding a horse, watching a movie with my boyfriend, and having dinner at Bonefish.

I would start my day off by eating breakfast at tropical smoothie. I always get a bagel with cream cheese and a peaches n’ silk smoothie which has peaches, strawberries, and bananas in it.

I would then go on a hike to Bears Den on the Appalachian trail with my family and dog. After hiking for awhile you reach an overlook and can see everything as far as the horizon, this is my favorite part of the hike and it is so beautiful.

For lunch I would go to Buffalo Wild Wings and get the honey barbeque wings with mozzarella sticks.

Next I would want to go volunteer at the Orange County Humane Society, animals are a huge passion of mine, so helping animals in need always makes me very happy and would definitely be included in my perfect day. I help out with adoptions and giving the animals exercise along with anything else they might need.

Then I would want to go horseback riding. I have ridden horses for many years and it is one of my favorite activates.  It always puts me in a good mood.

Next I would want to watch a movie with my boyfriend. We always watch comedies together so we would probably watch one of the newer comedies that recently came out on demand.

Finally I would go to Bonefish Grill for dinner and get the bang bang shrimp, this is my favorite dish that they have.

I really like how pictures can influence what words mean to a person. One of the visual assignments that I did was Poetry Art worth 3 stars. The poem that I picked was one that has always been a favorite of mine from my childhood. The picture that I chose was one that I took in France over the summer. I feel like the picture adds to the meaning of the words.

This post is a visual assignment for the week of 1-26 to 2-1 and is worth 2 points.

I chose to complete this assignment because it will give me a chance to flex my editing skills.

The photo I am working with comes from the sample photos that came with my Nokia Lumia 928 (RIP). It is bright, summery, and nostalgic.

Here is my edit-dark, high contrast, and gritty. It looks to me like a photo someone accidentally took at a crime scene.

Pretty noir-esque, if I do say so.

This post is a visual assignment for the week of 1-26 to 2-1 and is worth 2 points.

I chose to do this one because the title/ prompt made me laugh:

Here is my interpretation:

Note: I had to use Helvlight, since apparently Helvetica is extremely hard to find if it is not already on your default font list.

Also, I used a random quote generator and ended up with a quote from (or at least inspired by) Hitchhiker’s Guide.

It’s perfect.

Here is the unsuspecting Friends assignment that is 2 points. Me and my friends have taken photos of each other multiple times without them knowing so here are some of the photos that have been taken.

I chose this assignment design to shock (4 Points) because I thought it would be interesting. George will be watching – always watching! He watches his business, wife, his customers, his clients he protects, the streets and everything else he sees going on around him and his family.

During my childhood we were always watched very close when my Uncle George was around. We weren’t allowed to hear his storytelling for some reason or another. It use to creep me out because we would be in another room playing and you could feel his eyes watching you.

What’s In Your Bag? (3 Stars)

Your purse, bag, backpack, murse, whatever, is your constant companion throughout your adult life. What are the essentials in your bag that get you through the day? Take a picture of the items and detail each of them with a description.

Story Behind the Story:

Instead of using my own purse, I used my character Stella’s purse. In my mind, Stella is a very organized person with few possessions. She only carries what she absolutely needs and doesn’t hassle over digging through her purse trying to find something. I wanted her purse to symbolize her almost “double identity.” By day, psychologist. By night, sociopath. It is quite a shift in personalities, so I really wanted to show that binary opposition.

This assignment shows you how to see a person in a different light then just what is right in front of your face. It also allowed me to work with GIMP again. I think this assignment would be perfect in and english classroom. If you had access to computers and a photoshopping program, this would be extremely beneficial to have students get to know characters in a book. Their assignment could be to pick one character from the book they are currently reading in class and find the different objects that would be found in their bags in order to define what type of person they resemble. It takes the idea of reading to a whole new level; it allows students to create connections with the book while also teaching them a great skill like photoshopping.

Work Itself:

Two phones: Stella claims that the smaller flip phone is used for when her clients call, but no one has ever seen her use it. In reality, it is an unmarked phone in which she uses to carry out all of her wicked plans. The smart phone is her everyday, normal device; she uses it to blend in. If anyone were to get a hold of it, it would hold the run of the mill calls to her husband, her joint e-mail account with her husband, and other daily conventions.

Chapstick/sunglasses: This shows the simplicity of her appearance. She wears no make-up and has piercing green eyes that are sensitive to the sun. Nothing out of the ordinary with these two items; except for that fact that when Stella becomes nervous, she starts to consistently apply her Chapstick. I can’t imagine what would happen if that went missing? She has also noticed that her extreme pale skin, mixed with the piercing green eyes make people nervous and as someone committing multiple crimes, or so we think, she can’t make people fidget unless she is in control. She also sees her eyes as a unique feature that can easily be identified, so whenever she plans a scheme, you will see her sunglasses come out as a defense mechanism.

notepad/wallet combo: As a psychologist, Stella obviously has to take notes during sessions. What her clients don’t know is that she is not only taking notes about their emotions or feelings but additionally, significant details about their everyday life in order to track and manipulate their existence. Just one of her charming characteristics. She as this nice notepad/wallet combo so that no matter where she goes, she always has this notepad with her if she ever needed to reference it. You will NEVER see her without this. Even if she doesn’t have a purse with her, that wallet/notepad is glued to her hand. It never leaves her site. When the notepad runs out, she locks away in a safe with all of the other ones.

ring of keys: Which brings us to her extensive ring of keys. While her appearance can be a little intimidating, it sometimes proves the opposite effect. She has a knack for being charming when she wants something from someone. Hence how she got all of the keys now attached to her ring. Some are keys of clients homes, others are keys to doctors offices. There are even a couple that unlock storage units spread out all across the city. The big kicker is the key to her other home. That’s right. She lives with her husband in a nice suburban home, but she also has a hidden away apartment just for her. No one has ever been in it. No one knows it exists. She uses these keys when she has had enough fun with her clients and wishes to see them squirm.

multiple blank IDs: Finally, a stack of blank IDs. She can be whoever she wants, whenever she wants. She is the ultimate manipulator. If she needs to pretend to be running an investigation and access one of her clients files, she does it. If she wants to get into a safety deposit box, she does it. If she wants to act as a family visitor at the hospital, she does it. Maybe her real name isn’t even Stella?

Narrate the Process:

I am not going to lie, I used a little Veronica Mars inspiration for this assignment (in case you couldn’t tell by now, I have an unhealthy obsession with that show). I just twisted the peppy, witty Veronica into a deceptive, scary Stella. The multiple IDs and the set of keys were the main drive for this assignment. Someone who can get away with manipulating minds for years doesn’t seem like someone who would leave a lot of traces of that lifestyle in his/her purse. I wanted it neat and compact with an edge of curiosity.

Once again, I used GIMP. I found all of the pictures on Google and then dragged them into the application as different layers. However, I did not become this tech savvy on my own. The lovely tutors at UMW’s Digital Knowledge Center have probably seen enough of me by now. I started with the purse. In order to do this, I hid all of the other images by clicking on the little eye that appears next to them in the sidebar. Once I had cut the background out by using the wand, selecting the white space and then cutting, I proceeded to do the same for each item. I shrunk and rotated them to make it as scale as possible. (honestly if you had asked me about this process a week ago, I would have just stared at you, I am not even sure if what I have written now makes sense, but I am getting there!)