headed home

I am so excited to get back to the states and use the summer to continue building Arbour Beauty! Four weeks away has been hard and I feel behind, but knowing that I have so many new pictures to share is pretty stinking exciting. On more than one (or two, or even ten) occasions, I was left behind by the group at the sites we visited in Greece because I was taking pictures of trees. Oops! It was totally worth it though because as I sit in McDonald's at the Athens airport (where they're playing Lovefool by The Cardigans...I don't hate it) waiting for my flight, I can't stop thinking about all the new ideas I have for the summer.

When I return to the red white and blue I will get some of these pictures uploaded and get to painting! The pictures might be uploaded before then considering I have 8 more hours of airport sitting to do (and by sitting I mean people watching). 

I hope everyone is having an amazing summer so far and I hope you'll follow me on Twitter @MarissaCroft for some AB information and my various life shenanigans. I hope to have the Facebook page done soon, too!

I also just realized the excessive amount of exclamation marks used in this post. 

Judge if you must, but I'm excited to be home and get some new things going so I feel as though a few enthusiastic punctuation marks is allowed.

Be in touch shortly! Only 26 hours until I'm home.

αντίο

...that means "farewell" in Greek...and guess what? Greece is where I will be for the next month!

Two of my best friends and I will be studying abroad in Greece during May and we leave this Sunday. I am sad to have to put a bit of a hault on Arbour Beauty, but the good news is that I will have so many amazing pictures! I'm not sure if trees look any different over there but I suppose we will find out :) I don't know that I will be doing much painting over there, but that might be okay after all. Instead, I'd like to spend some time researching the lives of women over there.

Do not fear, I will still have access to internet and all that jazz so I can certainly keep you all up to date on my whereabouts, findings, and shenanigans from abroad! I hope maybe I can spend some time really sharing Arbour Beauty and getting the word out around town, even from Greece. Isn't social media amazing?

I will update later this week with a couple more paintings I've been working on, but for now, here is a lovely tree trunk I came across on the University of Memphis campus last week while walking to class! When the tree is in bloom, it is gorgeous!

LOOKY HERE!

Well, well, well...

Arbour Beauty is spreading awareness across the University of Memphis campus now!

I am just about done with my last full semester of undergrad seeking a Bachelor's of Arts in Journalism. One of my last classes has been Feature Writing where we write feature stories about different people, places, or interesting things around Memphis. One of my classmates, Crystal, is on staff with The Daily Helmsman, our campus newspaper and recently asked me if she could write a story on Arbour Beauty for the paper! Of course I said YES! I am so thankful for the opportunity that came along giving all University of Memphis students the chance to read about my vision. I hope it builds more awareness of the project and that people will start following my project and hop on board.

So here is the article, enjoy!

Student paints for poverty

AB on Etsy & Domestic Violence Grows

As of today, I have FOUR of the paintings listed on my etsy shop online! 

If you're not familiar with etsy, you should definitely check it out. It is an online source that allows folks to sell handmade creations such as paintings, jewelry, purses, etc. I could spend all day on there just looking at all the amazing things people have made! 

I wanted to create an Arbour Beauty store on etsy so that even people who may not be familiar with my blog could still hear about it. Also, etsy ensures a secure purchase so y'all don't need to worry about any of that!

I hope you all look through the paintings I've got going so far, but, I'd also like you to take the time and read this article from The Commercial Appeal. Violence among partners in Memphis is a growing problem.

Commercial Appeal: Crimes drop from 2010-2011 in Tenn. | Domestic violence cases continue to rise

Below is the excerpt that reassured me that I am doing something good for my city.

The Memphis murder numbers meant a 29 percent increase in homicides from 2010, and Shelby County Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich said part of the increase is due to the city's high number of domestic violence cases. Some of the categories overlap, but Weirich said, "Seventeen percent of homicides in 2011 stemmed from domestic violence cases. Forty-two percent stemmed from an argument or physical altercation, and 68 percent were individuals related or acquainted with each other."

And, while other crimes go down, the number of domestic violence cases goes up. From about 4,000 cases in 2008, the number has steadily climbed to 7,770 cases last year, said Karen Cook, chief domestic violence prosecutor in Weirich's office.

by: Michael Lollar

I really hope that 2012 is different, what can you do to help?

Branching Out

I've added new paintings to the "Art" tab, so take a look at those! I've found myself thinking more and more about what I can do in Memphis. I am so anxious to make my first sell and collect enough to make a substantial purchase for Memphis Family Shelter. I am looking into other women's shelters in the area and what Arbour Beauty can do for them, so if you have any suggestions, please let me know by commenting on this post! One of my best friends and roommate Shelby has been a huge encouragement with all of this and I certainly couldn't have done the video in my last post without her! (view here on YouTube) 


I'm working on some final touches with my etsy account so please bare with me and hopefully I will have that posted tomorrow! 


I also added a picture to "Trees". It is my sweet Mimi sitting on the porch of the family farm in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Isn't it beautiful?

Blooming

My vision is finally coming together!
I am working on uploading my paintings and getting everything set up on my etsy.com account. Currently in my Gender and Women's Studies class, we are discussing partner abuse and its emotional affect. The topic has really become something I am passionate about so I absolutely cannot wait to start helping these women and their children. 
Please take the time to view this video about Arbour Beauty and share! I will upload another video once I've sold enough to make a contribution and visit the shelter to deliver the make-up and beauty products.

Some Trees and a Dream

Whelp, I guess you have realized that I love trees. A tree hugger? Not so much, but maybe a little. In my blog, I hope to inspire other young people who may also be passionate about something, but not sure what to do with it. If that sounds like you, then why not consider using your talents and interests for good? I am all for helping the human race and reaching out to others. I am not, however, going to go search the world for hopelessness and grieve when it exists here in my very own city: Memphis, Tennessee. I want to help women here. Now. 

With that being said, I am no photographer or professional artist by any means, but if you like the paintings, buy one, and the proceeds will be used to provide new make-up to the women of Memphis Family Shelter and surrounding safe-havens for women who have fallen victim to domestic violence. If you have no interest in the paintings (suite yourself), I hope you'll still consider donating and enjoy browsing my photos. I've come across some pretty neat trees here in Memphis and even in other places I visit. So, I capture some photos of them and will be posting them on here along with my paintings, thought the photos are just for viewing.

I hope you all enjoy my journey in kicking off this project that, I'm not going to lie, might be a bigger dream than I can handle. Dream big, right?