Monday morning greetings from Stencil Archive HQ. Have been back in the home office for almost a full month now and future projects move forward daily. No rest for the weary stencil bearer. As banks, retail, insurance, and home sales crash and burn around us, San Francisco has decided to paint huge rectangles and odd shapes of buff across the Mission. Maybe things need to look good during a depression! Anyway, I’ve photographed few stencils since I’ve returned to the City. No matter, I have things brewing. It’s been too long, dear citizens of Stencil Nation. How the hell are YOU in these topsy turvy times? Taking a break from cutting a half tone stencil at the moment. This particular stencil will be the cloudy sky on my Stencilada panel, which will incorporate Hugh D’Andrade’s amazing CELLspace artwork from a poster I art directed about three years ago. Phish couldn’t have returned from the grave soon enough, plowing through online MP3’s of audience recordings from Hampton as I cut and cut and cut circles for the half tone. I also set up a work area downstairs from Stencil Archive HQ and just primed the two panels I will paint for Stencilada. I’m ghost writing for Scott Williams, who doesn’t get anywhere near spray paint. Went over to his place last Wednesday and helped him pull out about 10 stencils from his piles of archives. He had a working piece that he was air brushing, which I will try to make a version of for his panel. “Have fun,” he kept telling me between directions. Have fun? This is Stencil Master Class 356! It’s going to be great. First, have to stop by 1AM in SoMa and buy some paints. No Alien! That paint sucked in Europe. Hope to start painting Scott’s piece tomorrow or Tuesday. Maybe under the full moon? Looking like Tiago and John Koleszar will make the March 28 weekend grill out and unveiling. Too bad Peat couldn’t work it out. Look for postings all over the place for Stencilada on March 28. Got a large mural idea brewing for a CELLspace panel too. Dia is gonna hit it up a bit and stencils will end up on the new piece as well (this mural is replacing a destroyed mural from Negative Spaces). Might have even more surprises brewing that March 28 weekend. Stop by and check in with us, eat food, drink beer, and see art! What else? Have a California Stencil Nation tour brewing in another vat of goodness. Should start posting that tour later this week too, once Souther Cal gets it together to confirm dates. Things are currently starting off at CounterPULSE on April 15. Who needs to do taxes now that we don’t have any money anyway? Stop by for a good ole’ slide presentation on stencil art. Will be part of a group show at ATA on May 16, supporting Annice Jacoby’s Misson Muralismo book event. I helped her work on the book for the past three years, offering up stencils pics and advice and text. Abrams will publish this book, currently slated for release in June. Many fun things in store for this book release. More on that when Annice starts dropping the info. Have future tourings in the works as well, but nothing to announce just yet. Stay tuned. So the mall sprawl empties out (RIP Circuit City), the parking lots where fields once lay sprout grass anew (under the pavement, the meadow), and us starving artists keep living on the fringe of the system. It’s all about community, family, and taking care of one another. So, back to cutting half tone holes to live Phish. What’s your excuse?!!
The Sun Ra Ship is Leaving this Planet!