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/