Monday, March 4, 2013

Etsymetal Blog Carnival - March 2013, Where Do You Live

Every month my teammates on EtsyMetal choose a theme for our blog posting.  We call this our EtsyMetal Blog Carnival.  For this month, the topic is:
"Where do you live?" 
Physically, mentally, emotionally...
City, state, country; house, apartment, farm; orderly, chaotic, on the edge...
Give us a picture of who you are by showing and telling us where you live, how your surroundings may inspire you...
 
I live in, San Mateo, one of the suburbs in the San Francisco Bay Area, pretty much half way between the city of San Francisco and San Jose.  The 2010 census says that there are 7.15 million people living in communities surrounding the bay.  San Francisco is a very picturesque city, and the streets weave between colorful Victorians in the residential hills as well as through the downtown modern highrises.  Although I'm in the suburb, it's only a 15 min. drive to reach the city limits.  However, it typically takes me 30 minutes to cross town due to city traffic.

To me, San Francisco is a city of tolerance, a city of ethnic and cultural diversity.  That kind of spirit is very encouraging for the arts.  There's always some events going on each weekend.  We are very lucky to have some of the finest museums in the world.  The current exhibit, which I plan to visit, is the Girl with a Pearl Earring, Dutch Paintings from the Mauritshuis at the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park.  This puts me in the mood of making pearl earrings.  LOL.

Another museum current exhibit is the China's Terracotta Warriors at the Asian Art Museum.  Some years ago, I went to Xian and saw the excavation pits where these statues were unearthed.  But hey, seeing them again will bring me closer to home, closer to Asia.

In San Mateo, I live in a small house where my studio takes up a portion of the garage.  It's not the prettiest place, and that's why I rely on the attractions in San Francisco to provide me with tons of inspiration.  Having a network of local artist friends is invaluable.  I feel very lucky that I am surrounded by resources.

Hope you enjoy reading the other team member's blog posts on the same topic: 
1. Lou Hunter: http://peculiarforest.blogspot.ch/
2. Laura Jane Bouton: http://laurajanebouton.blogspot.it/
3. 2Roses: http://www.jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com
4. Inbar Bareket : http://www.inbarbareket.info/blog/
5. Laney Clark: http://www.silentgoddess.blogspot.com
6. Abella Blue: http://www.abellablue.com/blog
7. Cynthia Del Giudice: http://www.cynthiadelgiudice.blogspot.com
8. Rebecca Bogan: http://adobesol.wordpress.com/
9. Erin Austin: http://metalmusing.blogspot.com/
10. Deborah Lee Taylor http://www.e5jewelryblog.com
11. Anne Walker: http://creativeinclinations.blogspot.com/

Monday, January 7, 2013

Etsymetal Blog Carnival - January 2013, New Year's Resolutions

It's EtsyMetal's Blog Carnival again.  The team chooses one topic that we would write about for the first Monday of the month.  This month's topic is "New Year's Resolutions".  I want to recap this past year and what I had learned, where it had taken me, and where it would take me in 2013. 

2012 was an exciting year, exploring different techniques and participating in many new shows.  The positive responses encouraged me to head the direction of more challenging designs.  I learned that when you create special pieces, you differentiate yourself from the oceans of jewelry out there.  It is much more rewarding than making generic jewelry.  One very fun result is that my Dahlia was selected for all the show marketing materials for the KPFA Crafts Fair.  Now, that's marketing that no money can buy - at least not with my non-existing marketing budget.  :)

My resolutions for 2013:

1.  My production plan is to come up with a cohesive line of about 40 to 45 pieces.  The goal is BMAC 2014, the big wholesale show in Philly.  High fees, but an excellent motivator for me to sit at my bench and work hard.

2.  A new website is in order.  I want to set up an ecommerce site with a shopping cart.  I want to be able to post my show schedule and have separate gallery pages.  It will be nice to have total control of it.

Wish me luck!

Check out what my other teammates have to say about this topic:
1. Lou Hunter http://peculiarforest.blogspot.com
2. Laura Jane Bouton http://laurajanebouton.blogspot.it/
3. 2Roses: http://www.jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com
4. deborahleetaylor: http://www.e5jewelryblog.com
5. Mary Anne Karren: http://silverpearlmetalworks.wordpress.com/
6. Danielle Miller: http://daniellemillerjewelry.blogspot.com/
7. Nodeform : http://nodeform.blogspot.com/
8. Silentgoddess: http://silentgoddess.blogspot.com