Special Art Post #3: ESTRIA

Estria began spray painting in Hawai'i in 1984 and has since painted hundreds of murals. He was an influential leader of the "Golden Age" of graffiti (1980´s) in San Francisco, pioneering painting techniques of characters and scenes. He is also one of the originators of the stencil tip, a modified cap used by graffiti writers to create thin airbrush-like lines. Estria has painted in Peru, Italy, Mexico, Japan, Honduras, New York, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Charlotte and San Francisco. Since 1993 he has taught graffiti classes and lectured at universities on graffiti´s social and political impact. He garnered national attention with his arrest for graffiti in 1994; appearing in CNN, the San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner, and the National Enquirer. Estria co-founded Tumis Design in Oakland, California, which develops graphic communications and web applications for non-profits and foundations. Estria´s clients prior to Tumis include Sega America, MTV, Toyota, McKesson Corporation, Nokia, the Mills Corporation, President Clinton, and McDonald´s. Estria also co-founded Visual Element, the EastSide Arts Alliance´s free mural workshop that develops youth as a voice of the People. He has served the community through his cultural work for over 25 years. Samurai Graphix is a custom screen-printing company in San Leandro, CA, founded by Estria in 2007 to serve local businesses, bands and schools. He is currently creating screen prints for Hip Hop concerts.