<h5>Withered Roses</h5>

Hi all,

Firstly, sorry about the very delayed post, but I've had a hectic week.

I completed an illustration for an article over the weekend - the article was focused on violence against women, so I decided to take a different approach to the situation. The thorn vines are the constraints, the feeling of suffocation and fear and all other negative emotions that come from violence. The wilting flowers are reflective of the feelings of hopelessness, exhaustion, depression and loss of livelihood that can result from abusive behavior. It's a pretty intense topic, but it's a topic that I think most women feel strongly about and is something that is always brought up in the media.

I used pencils, watercolours and felt tip pens to create the illustration. The rest was edited and finalised in Photoshop.

University has been incredibly stressful, and it is only the first week back! But seeing as I am in the third and last year of my degree, I feel this is obviously necessary. But still, the costs involved with printing and other supplies this year will - I fear - be massive, but I'm going to try and scrape where I can and go with the lowest cost options. Also the fees seem significantly higher this year, which is no good either. :( Overall, this year will be the most focused on costliness. I only wish the uni could provide supplies within the HECS fees, it would make life much easier! But since I've made a promise to myself not to buy any clothes that aren't a necessity and only to buy things I need like food and supplies, I should be fine. :)

I really love the New Zealand label Lonely Heart's Autumn/Winter 2012 Lookbook. I love the contrast between the muted earthy shades and then the sudden bright "pops" of blue and red and yellow which break up the flow. Here are some of my favourites from the collection.

Photography & Styling: Karen Inderbitzen-Waller
Lighting & Digital: Avril Planqueel
Model: Olivia O’Driscoll
Makeup: Chay Roberts
Hair: Jason Chong Li

That's all for a little while, I will leave you with some Fleetwood Mac. ♥

Fleetwood Mac - Dreams