Welcome to the new/updated site! The Archives and search function may look a bit different, but it is still the same good time. Since 2002, your old-school website for all things stencils. Please consider donating what you can to support the much-needed upgrade. Photo submissions always welcome. Enjoy and stay curious.

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Preserving traditional Komon stencil dyeing technique

Endo Komon
Digitizing this Komon stencil will preserve the pattern for future cut outs.

Tokyo shop strives to digitize to preserve traditional Komon stencil dyeing technique

January 16, 2022 (Mainichi Japan)

LINK to article.

TOKYO -- A workshop in Tokyo that creates products using a traditional Japanese stencil dyeing technique called "Edo Komon" has launched a crowdfunding campaign to digitize and preserve the extremely fine patterns which are on the brink of extinction.

The dyeing studio Tomita Sen-Kogei Co. (Tomita Dyeing & Crafts Co.), located at the foot of a bridge over the Kanda River -- a site famous for cherry blossoms -- was founded in 1882. The shop sells kimono, as well as neckties, scarves, umbrellas, wallets and other items employing the dyeing technique of "Edo Komon" -- a method that developed during the Edo period (1603-1867) and is known for its extremely small patterns which cannot be seen from afar.

The paper stencils used to attach the intricate patterns onto fabric are primarily works by craftsmen from Mie Prefecture who carve the designs by hand. The workshop, and industry as a whole, is facing a crisis in terms of the protection of the craft and skills amid difficulties to preserve the stencils as well as a shortage of successors.

Server Upgrades for Better Stencil Pleasure

Just a quick note that the Stencil Archive was experiencing a few hiccups on the server-side of the site the past 48 hours. While working with host tech support, they noticed that Stencil Archive's databases were on two different servers in two different locations! This slowed down load times.

The site is now on one server in one location, the databases have been successfully updated, and all appears to be loading faster and working normally.

This could be an imagined improvement, or it is indeed faster (and normal). You never know with tech. :P

If you see anything odd, beyond the very old posts not being formatted properly, let us know.

Meanwhile, a larger site upgrade looms here on our 20th year. And we'll get back to more content uploading this weekend.

<3.... Stencil Archive

New Uploads - EU Artists Special

Marshal Arts
Marshal Arts on the Hamburg streets (photo: TXMX)

Thanks to: TXMX, Jaime Rojo/Brooklyn Street Art, Josiah and Candice, @Emily_Lykos, @GraffitiRadical, u/Everything4Everyone, u/nzrqrb,

Spinning: WDCB, KCSM

>NEW< MARLIX (DE)

>NEW< nat at art (DE)

1980s Blek (just one)

C215

CSP (just one)

Liz Art (just one)

M-City (just one)

Marshal Arts

ork (just one)

Pirho (just one)

Props (just one)

Rude

Rumo (just one)

TaZe (just one)

theYoung (just one)

tona

txmx

USP

EZP Sends Jan. Greetings

EZP Primate
One of EZP's new submissions to the Stencil Archive.

>NEW< EZP (Paris, FR)

After a mostly dismal start to 2022 (covid-related... you don't want to know!), the Stencil Archive was happy to see a few emails in our inbox from stencil OG EZP (Insta link) in Paris. Painting walls since the 1980s, EZP had scoured the Archive photos and found some of his older works, including one of his daughter as well as some from the now classic 2007 Difusor Stencil Meeting (this fun gathering is worth revisiting since it happened back in the heady days of the public art wave that eventually got labelled as street art).

I asked EZP to help me update the Archive albums where he found his work. I also encouraged him to send me some photos so that I could rightly feature his stencils in his very own Archive album. He nicely obliged, so click the link above to see his old and new works on the walls in France.

After 20 years of the Stencil Archive, we are always excited to hear from artists and help update their photos and information. We're grateful that EZP contacted us and enjoyed chatting with one of the Parisian originals. 

Jan. Uploads - Omicron Quarantine Ed.

Joe Iurato and Martha Cooper
Joe Iurato in Miami, with Martha Cooper in front of the camera.

We'll get through this together.... with more stencils in our lives!

Thanks to: Jaime Rojo/Brooklyn Street Art, Josiah and Candice, @Emily_Lykos, @GraffitiRadical, u/Everything4Everyone, u/nzrqrb,

Spinning: streaming random radio stations: KCSM, WUSC, WRAS, KZSU

A few from Australia

Add Fuel in Miami

Aiko in Miami (just one)

Arizona (just one)

Argentina (just one)

1980s Blek!

Switzerland

Colombia (just one)

Germany

Hamburg (not a TXMX photo)

>NEW< DotDotDot (NO)

Spain

Greece

Italy

Illinois (just one)

Joe Iurato in Miami

>NEW< marycula (DE)

>NEW< Macedonia (MK)

Miss.Tic (FR)

faile

Los Angeles (just one)

fnnch (just one)

TXMX Rings Out 2021 with Fresh Stencil Pics

Hamburg DE
TXMX, walking the streets with a camera :)

There is a reason why the Stencil Archive has an album just for photographs from Hamburg. Beyond the fact that there has been a strong presence of street stencils in Hamburg for about two decades now, the Stencil Archive always receives an annual end-of-year submission zip file from the artist documentarian TXMX.

As we've said in the past, TXMX has been one of our longest and most prolific contributors to the Stencil Archive project. He is definitely a solid citizen of the Stencil Nation, and we are deeply grateful for his photographs, art, and collaborations. 

As 2021 draws to an end today, here is a batch of photos TXMX took on the streets of Hamburg during year two of the COVID Pandemic. Art stops for no one, and TXMX helps keep things real for us all in 2022!

The link above gets you to the new uploads, as does this one. TXMX's artist-credited photos will be posted very soon in the new year.

Be safe out there and keep cutting and painting.

The Artists Photos Uploaded

The Rebel Bear
The Rebel Bear, predicting Omicron??

>NEW< Eddy Plu (NL)

>NEW< Nafir (DE)

>NEW< Tuco Wallach (FR)

>NEW< Looksntacher (SF, CA)

>NEW< Goblin (NYC)

>NEW< Louie Valentine (NC)

>NEW< MRSN (LA, CA)

Peat EYEZ (just one)

Hanksy (just one)

Logan Hicks

Shaghayegh Cyrous (just one)

JPS

Miss.Tic (just one)

mcity (just one)

the Rebel Bear (just one)

theYOUNG (just one)

Toxicomano (just one)

Eclair (just one)

fnnch

Novy (just one)