Cannabis Art Makes an Impression

from Cannabis by the Sea Magazine, Fall 2021

Cannabis Legalization

By Amy Marie Orozco

With its technicolor palettes and retro vibes, the graphics of Portland, Oregon-based artist Savina Monet bring together beauty and political statement. Originally from Southern California’s Inland Empire, Savina describes herself as a selftaught artist and able to draw upon a childhood of “always making our own stuff, clothes, toys … ” to create.

In her early twenties, Savina gave her career careful thought, deciding she didn’t want a cubicle nor an office, making the choice to work at home. She started her arts education after attending college as an accounting major for one year signing up for three online courses to learn the rules of graphic design. “Then I started breaking them,” Savina recalls.

Her work has two non-negotiables. One is the creativity. The other is to normalize cannabis. She calls it Exposure Therapy, thinking of it as a plant to make it less scary and turning around the Reefer Madness stigma.

Cannabis plants, flowers, and leaves are vital elements of her designs. Juxtaposed against 1970s font styles and personalities, 1960s greeting card send-ups, and 1950s fashion trends, the finished blend is a fun-filled message to break the Reefer Madness lock on the plant’s demonization.

If not for weed, Savina notes, “I’d be on some kind of psych med.” As some people unwind from a workday with a glass of wine or some cannabis, Savina starts her workday with cannabis to quiet her thoughts and focus on the artwork. She used to begin creating straight away but has found slowing down, with perhaps meditation and a cup of tea, allows her to work longer. “Freelancing is a trade-off. There’s no structure, you make your own rules, but you work 50 to 60 hours a week.”

Word-of-mouth advertising and referrals have built the business with more clients out of the Portland area than in it, including international ones from Mexico, Belgium, and Canada. They come to her for her style and often want to tighten up their look to help with branding and packaging. Pre-COVID, she sold at fairs and festivals. Today, her Etsy store accounts for about 30 percent of the income. COVID provided an opportunity to reprioritize, and she’s grateful for her job and plenty of work.

Like the rest of us, she is waiting and watching to navigate the next phase of the pandemic, future creative experiments already are planned, though, and those include playing with collages and camera filters for Instagram and TikTok. Or as Savina puts it, “inviting people to step into my imagination.”

Learn more at savinamonet.com and follow her @savinamonet.