DOPE Magazine - Western Washington - The Art Issue - September 2019 by DOPE Magazine

CREATOR OF “SUPRALAND” DAVID MÜNNICH GAMING’S BOLDEST NEW EXPERIENCES ARE COMING COURTESY OF SMALL DESIGN TEAMS

STONER ROCK’S REMBRANDT ARIK ROPER

PLASTIC ART HOW A NEW MEDIUM TURNS POLLUTION INTO INSPIRATION

W. WA S H I N G T O N

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PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST Photographers, want to see your work in the pages of dope magazine? As a lifestyle publication, DOPE Magazine is committed to cultivating creative expression within the cannabis community. We’re looking to feature your creative work in the next issue of DOPE Magazine! There are no limitations or restrictions—hit us with your best shot! HOW TO ENTER Head to www.dopemagazine.com/dope-contests and submit your favorite capture and win the chance to have your work featured in a beautiful 2-page spread in our National publication. Shoot what inspires you. Ready. Set. GO! WHAT TO ENTER To ensure eligibility for the contest, please submit files of at least 300 dpi in landscape format. Entries may originate in any format - digital files, digital prints, color transparencies, color prints, or black and white prints - so long as they are submitted electronically in a .JPEG .jpg or .png form. Entries should include full name of photographer and a brief caption. ELIGIBILITY Dope Shots (“Photo Contest”) is open to all professional and amateur photographers who have reached 21 years of age at the time of entry. By submitting an entry to the Photo Contest, entrants certify that their submission in the Photo Contest gives DOPE Magazine the right to publish this photo. DOPE will provide artist credits. By entering, you agree to release and hold harmless DOPE and affiliates from and against any claim or cause of action arising out of participation in the Photo Contest. ENTRY PERIOD The Photo Contest is recurring; beginning on the tenth of each month and ending the last day of each month. JUDGING Photos will be judged on the originality, composition, technical excellence as well as overall impact and artistic merit.

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THE ART ISSUE

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FROM THE EDITOR A

For the last year, the DOPE team has been waiting patiently for the opportunity to showcase the brilliant work of Jeremy Fish. The time finally came, and we couldn’t be happier with the outcome; this is one of our most fantastic Art Issues to date. San Francisco City Hall's first artist-in-residence, Jeremy Fish, has produced illustrations for skateboards, rappers and art shows worldwide while remaining dedicated to his home, the city that incubated medicinal cannabis as well as the tech boom. From collecting signatures for Denis Peron to collaborating with AbsoluteXtracts, Fish's commitment to the cannabis community is as steady as his drawinghand. Twenty-five years into his career, he's got the mayor on speed dial and more cannabis collaborations on the way — and he's just getting started. Filling the pages alongside Fish is the work of Arik Roper – aptly coined the Rembrandt of stoner rock. From science textbooks to mead labels, Roper’s work is ever-present. Much of his work is tied to the music industry — throughout a career spanning more than two decades, Roper’s designs for the likes of Iron Maiden, Cathedral, Windhand and The Black Crowes have earned him a devoted following.

will eventually become a wall hanging or a large sculptural installation – reminding us that rather than getting angry at the problem of plastic we can collaborate on finding solutions to plastic waste. Washed Ashore’s work has toured North America appearing in botanical gardens, zoos, aquariums and libraries. If you want to get involved, please visit the artists’ websites. We take our Art Issue to the gaming world in interviews with small-team game designers like David Münnich of “Supraland” and Leighton Gray of “Dream Daddy.” These designers are changing the landscape of game design and revealing that it doesn’t take an army of creatives to create an immersive and sought-after gaming experience. In the past decade, crowdsourcing, freemium economies and app games have given small teams more avenues for attaining the spotlight. We want to thank all of our readers for taking a peek inside this year’s Art Issue. Stay DOPE.

The DOPE Editorial Team Plastic waste has penetrated our planet in irreversible ways. Two companies, Washed Ashore and One Beach Plastic are attempting to change the way local communities rally around the waste. Their answer? Art. They comb beaches for plastic bits, large and small, that

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elcome to my fucked-up bakery,” Jeremy Fish says unfastening a small latch built into a bookcase of his North Beach, San Francisco studio. His laid-back voice juxtaposes the outlandishness of his statements and the surreal fantasia of his artwork. The bookcase swings open on a hidden hinge revealing a massive expanse of white brick. In this room, once the furnace of a local bakery, Fish works on an upcoming exhibition: a ring of easels showcase his works in progress, figures in various shades of gray all rendered in his now signature style. For the past quarter of a century, Fish’s illustrations have graced art galleries worldwide, as well as magazine spreads, skateboard decks, tee shirts, album covers and business signs around San Francisco — S.F. City Hall named him its first artist-in-residence in 2015. No matter the medium, Fish’s hobby horses are constant. Caricatured wildlife — bears, fish, dogs and especially rabbits — commingle with human skulls and other more morbid symbology. Their elastic bodies metamorphose into cars and other objects, presented unrealistically in comic landscapes that seem safer, cleaner and more earnest than ours. Fish’s work offers a window into an imaginative realm more accepting of mortality and simultaneously more harmonious than reality. It’s no small wonder that intellectual hip-hop musicians, art critics and skateboard enthusiasts find common ground in his output’s adorable and anarchic spirit. T h e c a n n a b i s s p a c e i s n o s t ra n g e r t o Fish’s work, either. He’s worked with cannabis brands internationally and collaborated with AbsoluteXtracts on his own cartridge – aptly named Fish Tank. Multiple sherlock-style vapes cradled in carved wooden holsters sit at the ready near his workstations: a sometimes-grim reminder of Fish’s brush with death. He survived an aneurysm and subsequent brain surgery and can’t burn flower or smoke cigarettes any longer. Though Fish prefers tequila, the counter in his workspace is stocked with beer, mostly gifts from friends in the North Beach neighborhood which he observes from behind a drawing table, invisible from the outside thanks to a glass etching of his own face. Fish watches S.F. from inside the image of his own eye, dressed head to toe in the brown shade that’s become his signature. He’s lived in that neighborhood during the tumultuous period that brought legalized cannabis back to the United States, rubbing elbows with the technological innovators that now shape our society, and his reach is just as global. Pretty good for a kid who moved to the bay from upstate N.Y. in the early ‘90s to attend art school, skate around and smoke some great grass.

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1994

During DOPE’s visit to Fish’s studio, he reveals that he first moved to California 25 years ago that very week to attend The San Francisco Art Institute. “At 19 years old, I was far more interested in skateboarding than I was in art school, and so that’s what I spent the majority of my time doing here,” Fish says. And with skateboarding came cannabis. “Some of the greatest fucking grass was coming from Northern California, and I was just a few hours south. It blew my doors within the first few months I was here.” A longtime sufferer of chronic migraines, he found that cannabis would clear his head long enough to allow him to draw unencumbered, making him an ideal medicinal cannabis activist. Fish found himself advocating for medicinal cannabis not long after. A chance encounter at Fort Miley with a skateboarder working for Denis Peron led to a part-time job collecting signatures. “It paid 50 cents a signature,” Fish remembers. “Every person you could coax to feeling the same way about it that I did, was 50 cents in the pocket of an art student in what was slowly becoming a more and more expensive city to live in.” Fish’s father had warned him to keep his finances near the fore of his mind, advice which he took to heart. “My father said, ‘Major in something practical so you can get a fucking job because a fine arts degree is not the sort of thing that opens the doors to great paychecks; focus on something that has a practical application.’” That practical application turned out to be screen printing, which led to a job offer right out of school at a print facility which serviced skateboards and tee shirts. “It was a dream job; it is more than I could have wished for,” he recalls. At the time, transitioning from skateboard decks into fine art was an unthinkable career track, but Fish has no aversion to breaking from convention. “I think there’s a million avenues to be successful at visual art, whatever that is, and I’ve taken a lot of non-traditional ones,” he says. He thinks of that period in the print shop as the equivalent of graduate studies, a crash course in the technical and commercial application of his craft. When Fish entered the shop, he didn’t have the skillset to complete a professional board graphic. By the time he exited, his now-iconic style was fully developed, owing to years working with local influences. “I was studying the illustration styles of these guys that I just worshiped. And that’s kind of when my style shifted to look more like it does today.” Fish quickly points out that he never took any ideas from his then-mentors but admits: “We joke frequently that my style is kind of a melting pot of all the guys that were contributing to that print shop at that time.” The print shop came with another advantage: its owners published a murderer’s row of touchstone skateboarding magazines, including Thrasher, Slap and Juxtapoz — the latter of which brought Fish international attention. “While I was in art school [it] was a Bible,” he says of Juxtapoz. “It’s created an entire genre and a niche of visual art that wasn’t really there before I moved here.” Fish published his first poster in Juxtapoz in 1999 after leveraging his contacts inside of the print shop. “I kind of snuck in through the back door. I knew their production guys before I knew their editor.” That work led to a feature in Slap, and shortly thereafter exhibition offers from galleries worldwide looking to explore the ascendant skateboard culture. He worked in the skateboarding industry for a decade, enduring the economic ups and downs that eventually made him the sole member of his art department. Meanwhile, the standard operation

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of print shops gradually included more and more computer technology, which Fish had no training in. He left to freelance full time and landed even more high-profile gigs, including the cover to critically acclaimed rapper Aesop Rock’s 2007 album “None Shall Pass.” “I’m a humongous hip-hop fan and have been my entire life,” Fish says. “At that age, and at that time, the backdrop to all my artwork was his era of hip hop and tons of guys like him.” Fish and Rock were introduced by a mutual friend when the emcee relocated to S.F. from New York. The two empire state expats struck up a working relationship which continues to this day. That partnership led to more gigs for Fish with similar backpacker rappers including Atmosphere, further raising his profile. But the key to Fish’s future would not be music, but the history of the city he calls home.

The Barbary Coast A circular marker sits embedded in the concrete outside of Fish’s studio, one of many such markers that point out historic locations in the city dating back to the Gold Rush. Fish’s neighborhood offers an embarrassment of cultural riches, both famous and infamous. The Condor, the first legal strip club in America, sits two intersections away, and not far from that is City Lights Booksellers and Publishers, founded by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Nearby Caffe Trieste, the oldest espresso bar on the west coast, adorned with photos of famous singers of the ‘40s and ‘50s, hosted Francis Ford Coppola while he wrote his script to “The Godfather” — an early scene in the film wherein Johnny Fontane visits Connie Corleone’s wedding bears the shop’s obvious influence. Fish strolls through the neighborhood with easy confidence. Locals sitting outside of Italian restaurants on their lunch break call his name and wave to him while he strides by. Numerous local businesses proudly display signs which he illustrated. He might as well be the Mayor of North Beach — after all San Francisco, home of Emperor Norton, is no stranger to such beloved unelected ‘officials’ — and the local history and culture of the city have inspired some of Fish’s most critically acclaimed material. “In 2008, I did this whole show that was about Barbary Coast history, the dawn of the city, the Gold Rush, a crazy bar that had a bear tied up in it, and crazy brothels that were saved by the firemen because they loved [them],” Fish says. That exhibit came at a time when the ascendant tech industry began to price-out many of the city’s creatives, a process which Fish doesn’t take issue with. “I was trying to point back at something historically about the city to remind people, “Hey, shit has bubbled and changed before.’” Fish says. “Look at the phoenix, the symbol of the city, our flag, is one of rebirth from tragedy and rebirth from the flames. There’s been shitloads of ups and downs in this town, and there will be it seems … until I either leave or the place explodes.” The Barbary Coast exhibit proved to be a game-changer for Fish, raising his local profile and catching the attention of those outside of the art scene. “People in the city started to give a fuck about my stuff because I was giving a fuck,” he recalls. “It was at a time that you needed to give a fuck. Things were getting volatile here; people were getting pissed off.”

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100 Days in the Broom Closet In 2015, Fish was selected as the City Hall’s first artist-inresidence and was commissioned to create 100 drawings in as many days celebrating the history of San Francisco City Hall. “The Arts Commission picked me because they knew that my work had a broad appeal,” Fish opines. “Because of the amount of tee-shirts I put my artwork on and signage around the city, advertising in commercial work, I had a very recognizable style and something that has a narrative. It tells a story very quickly, and the Arts Commission wanted people to give a fuck about city hall.” In an interview that year, Fish said that if the project could make one percent of the city’s new tech community care about city hall, the project would be a success. Fish demanded an office at City Hall in which to finish the project and found himself assigned a storage closet. “There was a giant storage room full of architectural drawings and retrofit plans and cool stuff about the building,” he remembers. “That’s the perfect thing to sit around: dusty old models from presentations and things like that. It was wonderful. I was probably the only guy that had an “office” [at city hall] in 2015 that was sitting there stoned drawing pictures.”

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The Bronze Bunny

Fish’s most lasting contribution to San Francisco’s art history came about as a gag. A construction project in the Haight was set to demolish a long-abandoned building. As a way to give back to the community, the developers worked with neighborhood supervisor Thea Selby to commission a series of murals to beautify the building before its demolition. Naturally, she approached Fish, who had a slightly different idea. “[The building] had been heavily tagged with graffiti forever as long as I lived here, so I just thought, ‘Man, putting a mural on that thing is a death wish. Your shit’s just going to get destroyed no matter what you put there.” Instead, Fish chose to work in an odd, triangular space on the corner, which sat just a little too high to be easily graffitied. And rather than paint a mural, he spent around $500 by his estimation to sculpt a six-foot-tall rabbit out of foam and cover it in fiberglass. “My friends and I poured a puddle of liquid cement. We drilled way down into the shelf, my construction buddy came, and we put these fat lug nuts down into it. You’d have to cut, I don’t know, 10 bolts off the thing [to remove

the sculpture],” he remembers. “It was on there. I just bounced and left it there, and it really got a reaction right away.” Briefly, Fish has a thing for rabbits. The animal often appears in his work, frequently in a slightly skeletal form. Fish is the leader of a nationwide gang named the Silly Pink Bunnies, boasting over 100 members. The group claims no criminal activity and appears to be more of a social club than anything else, meeting annually in different cities. Fish owns its web page. That sentimentality may explain why, when it came time to remove the statue, Fish made a to-do about it. He held a funeral for the statue, complete with a eulogy by the city’s now-mayor London Breed —the two now text sometimes. The statue was demolished by a crane, but that was not the end of it. A local museum, the Haight Street Art Center, received an offer to move into a new building. Selby knew that Fish’s

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statue had to be a part of the new Art Center and helped organize a Kickstarter to recreate the Silly Pink Bunny, this time in bronze. “Those guys had watched the whole story of the enthusiasm that grew around the statue and the fact that it was going to get destroyed,” Fish remembers. “They raised the money like that, and it became the largest crowdfunded public bronze statue in the state.” Mayor Breed donated $5,000 to the Kickstarter. The second, much larger, bronze statue now exists outside of the Haight Street Art Center. In all likelihood, it will outlive all of Fish’s other work. “Long after the paintings are gone and the murals are painted over, and you’re long since dead, here’s this giant several-ton fucking rabbit,” Fish says of the statue, which may be his most enduring piece. “Now, I have this relationship with the mayor because of this fucking statue. You couldn’t predict that kind of outcome from something like this. And it’s a reminder that we should all once in a while just do the most outlandish, most stupid [thing,] just because it seems like a good idea.”

Obelus Fish underwent treatment for his aneurysm in 2015, during the height of the bunny statue’s mania, he suffered a brain aneurysm. Fish had been a heavy smoker of cannabis and tobacco for years, but doctors warned him to abstain. Quitting nicotine was one thing, but cannabis was another. Once again, Fish’s deep communal roots came to the rescue. One of his friends, a grower for CannaCraft and AbsoluteXtracts, provided him with oils and edibles during his recover y. “ They star ted providing me with all kinds of oils and edibles and things that at that point were a fucking gift because my life had changed dramatically, “Fish says. That relationship eventually led to the creation of the Fish Tank cartridge, at a time when collaborating with a cannabis brand was no safe bet. “A lot of the people I work with were like, ‘Definitely don’t do that. Don’t put your name on drugs; you’re not Snoop Dogg, it’s not a good idea.’ But I had so much loyalty to them.” That loyalty extends to other businesses as well, such as Mendocino Grasslands in Ukiah, California. Once again, Fish swam against the current, and wound up with a hit on his hands. “It was a risk worth taking and

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I’m glad I did. The cartridge won a bunch of awards and it was really well-received and continues to do really well and make shit loads of people happy,” he says. Fish Tank was such a success that a second version of the cartridge, one that comes paired with an infused beverage, is in the works. Fish’s seemingly contrafactual choices adhere to a workable methodology: using unusual avenues to forge a relationship between his artwork and people who would not otherwise come in contact with it. “Taking a picture and hanging it on a wall in your house, that’s one experience. Hanging it near the toilet? Whole ‘nother experience,” he explains. “But consuming it, eating it, smoking it? That’s a different way of thinking about visual art and the person behind it. To me, that’s really romantic and special, and I’m super proud to have those kinds of things out on the market.” He’s currently working with the minds behind bay area dispensaries Moe Greens, Grassroots and The Barbary Coast on a new dispensary, right near his headquarters in North Beach. “I couldn’t possibly have a dispensary open in the neighborhood without being involved,” he says. “I’d feel fucked up about it.” The yet-unnamed dispensary promises to be a bifurcated operation, part cannabis outlet and part art gallery, which Fish will help curate. He promises to use the space to keep up the tradition of visual artists in the area, such as Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. The dispensary will be one of many traces Fish leaves on North Beach, but it may have to take the place of his headquarters. Fish’s fucked-up bakery, with its secret bookcase door and massive blank expanse, is slated for destruction in the name of development at an uncertain time in the future. The sword hanging over his studio doesn’t bother Fish, though — while the rest of the community complained, he went out of his way to remind the world that San Francisco grew through the Gold Rush, through the rise of big tech and also the rise of legal cannabis. So long as the city exists, the phoenix will continue to fly higher, and Fish will be there to illustrate it.

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PLASTIC ART HOW A NEW MEDIUM TURNS POLLUTION INTO INSPIRATION WRITER | JEFFREY RINDSKOPF

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ngela Pozzi grew up learning the arts like a second language. In her mother’s studio, she discovered a passion for reinventing would-be discarded items like toilet paper rolls or bottle caps as creative materials, which would later come in handy during her 30 years as an underfunded public art teacher. When her mother passed away, Pozzi decided to become a professional artist, as her mother had always encouraged her to. But after her husband passed, Pozzi moved to her family’s cabin on the southern Oregon coast, lost and depressed, to try and connect with the ocean and to find her life’s trajectory. But something was wrong. “I kept coming across plastic on this beach that I felt was a sacred place,” she explains. “I’d always believed that the ocean would never change, that it’s one constant in our lives, but I realized we were starting to destroy it … I thought, if I can save the ocean, that’s a good reason to live, so let’s do that.”

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Rufus the Trigger Fish weighs in at 100 pounds (9 feet tall x 3 feet wide).

2,000 pound sculpture of Adelie penguins Maggie and Charlotte (10 feet tall x 12 feet wide).

In 2010, Pozzi founded the 501c3 nonprofit Washed Ashore, rallying local community members who had previously just been getting angry about the problem to collaborate on a solution: recycling beach plastics into art that would “let people see what’s going on in a way they want to see it.” With the help of more than 14,000 volunteers, the organization has processed over 20 tons of reclaimed plastics into more than 75 giant sculptures, or four traveling exhibits, of animal species like sea lions, jellyfish and puffins threatened by human pollution. Their four traveling exhibits are displayed in galleries, museums and aquariums alike, where viewers can make out thousands of recognizable components, from toothbrushes to flip-flops, many with visible bite marks in them. As public awareness of our overwhelming plastic waste has grown, so too have plastic-derived creative projects like Washed Ashore, which aim to engage and motivate communities on a subject that often causes feelings of consternation and defeat. Though used in a wide variety of “disposable” products, plastics take centuries to decompose completely and have started piling up to a weight of more than 315 billion pounds in the world’s oceans. With an additional eight million metric tons added each year, the World Economic Forum predicts that by 2050, oceans will contain more plastic than fish mass. Since we’re going to be living with the remnants of our plastic waste for centuries, it’s in the Earth and humanity’s best interest to find some positive use that can keep them out of our natural ecosystems and food chains. Circulated by ocean gyres, the world’s trash has become international artists’ creative treasure, a cheap, ubiquitous and versatile new medium with an inherent connection to people’s everyday lives and some unique aesthetic qualities. “Plastic is either clear or colored all the way through,” explains Richard Lang. “When [it] starts to get weathered by the sun and abrasion, there’s a really interesting patina that happens pretty universally with plastic on the beach. [I]t’s like putting a photoshop filter on a bright color.” Since 1999, Lang and his wife Judith Selby Lang have collaborated on the project One Beach Plastic, making minimalist still life prints with

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plastic pieces they collect and curate from one 1,000-meter stretch of coastline in Northern California’s Point Reyes National Seashore. Both had been independently collecting plastic to make their art for three years before sharing their first date at this same beach. When she knelt to pick up a colorful piece in the sand, he asked, “Are you gonna keep that?” “By focusing on just that tiny dimension of the vast coastline,” Judith says, “it shows what’s happening on beaches around the planet. Because the problem is so vast, the main point of our work is ‘two people, one beach’—a graspable metric for the human mind.” Despite the singular focus, their art has been exhibited internationally “from Tokyo to Tbilisi,” in over 100 venues and counting. Like Pozzi, the Langs relish the challenge of creating something new and beautiful from what others discard, arranging different shades of plastic like “brushstrokes on a canvas” and selling photographic prints to avoid the environmental nightmare of re-shipping plastics around the world. As well as promoting consumer mindfulness and simple fixes like bringing reusable bags to the grocery store, their work invites viewers to reconsider familiar objects disregarded by our throwaway culture, like drink lids or cigarillo tips (a mainstay on many beaches), in a new, often beautiful light.

“AS PUBLIC AWARENESS OF OUR OVERWHELMING PLASTIC WASTE HAS GROWN, SO TOO HAVE PLASTIC-DERIVED CREATIVE PROJECTS LIKE WASHED ASHORE, WHICH AIM TO ENGAGE AND MOTIVATE COMMUNITIES ON A SUBJECT THAT OFTEN CAUSES FEELINGS OF CONSTERNATION AND DEFEAT.”

“[W]e want people to pay attention to their everyday actions, and don’t feel terrible about their actions, just change them,” says Richard. “What we’re interested in more than anything is inspiring creativity, because out of creativity comes solutions. Feeling terrible doesn’t do it.” These projects are a reminder that environmentalist art can do more than point fingers or make us feel bad, an approach that quickly leads to despair, alienation and division on what should be a universal issue. To make their message accessible to as many as possible, including international audiences unable to decipher the educational signage, Washed Ashore offers many different ways to learn about the nature and scope of our plastic crisis. Pozzi drew from her teaching background to build out resources like a sub-exhibit called Buoy, Beat ‘n’ Bop appealing to musical learners, and a free online “marine debris” curriculum to help anyone launch a beach pollution art practice. “The arts have a purpose just in their aesthetic qualities, but they’re also a powerful language that can reach into the heart and into the mind, and stay there and not be fleeting,” says Pozzi. “The art itself has to educate without any words, so even just having a recognizable item in your face when you’re looking at a fish and realizing, ‘Is that a lighter?’” DEFENDING OUR PLANT EVERYWHERE

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Judith Selby Lang and Richard Lang combing Kehoe Beach for plastic.

ONE BEACH PLASTIC WEBSITE

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WASHED ASHORE

WEBSITE WASHEDASHORE.ORG INSTAGRAM @WASHEDASHOREART

When a Washed Ashore volunteer feels empowered for bending old clothes hangers on a penguin’s six-by-six wing panel, or a viewer of the exhibit starts crying because they’d never thought of it like this before, it shows that art still has a powerful role to play in helping us overcome insurmountable-seeming issues of environmental destruction, in much the same way it’s helped us overcome other issues – by inspiring action and changing minds. Since founding Washed Ashore, Pozzi has witnessed this influence firsthand. She’s now looking to move onto something new within her umbrella nonprofit the Artula Institute. While it’s been a continual challenge to hand over creative control without letting ego get in the way, it’s also been “extremely rewarding and fulfilling,” and goes to the heart of the collective impact she hoped to make with Washed Ashore’s art. “I think the whole paradigm shift should be ‘I’m part of something bigger and we’re all doing this together.’ It’s what we need more of in this world,” Pozzi says. “Every little step adds up, and when people see a visual, that’s real, that gives us hope because we very seldom get a tangible example of how our actions count.”

DEFENDING OUR PLANT EVERYWHERE

S ’ E I L L I W ESERVE R ™

CULTURE 44

DEFENDING OUR PLANT EVERYWHERE

ven though recreational cannabis use in New York state and therefore New York City still remains illegal, the Big Apple’s cannabis culture is very much alive and well. A study released last year by the German public relations and communications firm ABCD found that, despite its recreational illegality, New York has the highest cannabis consumption for any city on the globe – at 77.44 metric tons annually.

in the 1920s and ‘30s, when alcohol Prohibition was in full swing, swinging nightclubs in upper Manhattan kept things lively with groundbreaking music, bootleg booze and marijuana. Cab Calloway, famed bandleader at New York’s legendary Cotton Club, had a hit in 1932 with his song “Reefer Man.”

A long history of pot smoke

That tradition of the Prohibition speakeasy remains in NYC to this day for cannabis enthusiasts. Although New York lawmakers recently decriminalized cannabis, the state failed in its latest attempt to legalize recreational cannabis use. New York cannabis activists say that, as cannabis legalization grows around the country, there’s a unique need in NYC for safe and legitimate spaces where people can consume cannabis. Benjamin Leiner, the executive director for New York City NORML, points out that the hundreds of thousands of people living in city public housing aren’t allowed to smoke cannabis. “If they are caught smoking cannabis, even if they are medical patients, they can be evicted,” he tells DOPE. “Also, there are a lot

Cannabis has been a part of New York’s cultural life — and street life — for decades now. Pot smoke was seemingly everywhere in New York during the 1960s and ‘70s. The city’s annual Cannabis Parade and Rally traces its roots back to the Vietnam War-era “Smokeins” in Washington Square Park, organized by the counter-culture Youth International Party, or Yippies. On the artistic side, former Beatle and later New York resident John Lennon in 1972 produced an album for David Peel, a self-proclaimed “New York City Hippie” and marijuana activist, called “ The Pope Smokes Dope.” Further back, during the Harlem Renaissance

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Looking for a safe place to light up

of people who don’t have a place to smoke at home, so they smoke outside, and smoking outside can turn into a serious offense, a criminal offense for the New York Police, and those people [can] end up in the criminal system. Having a safe place for people to consume cannabis […] protects those people.”

The new “smoke-easies”

That’s where New York’s underground cannabis social clubs come in. Over the past several years, the city has reportedly seen a quiet boom in the number of places where people can gather with other cannabis enthusiasts and get elevated in good company. A gentleman called Stan (a pseudonym) was DOPE’s guide into the world of New York’s cannabis speakeasies or, as he prefers to call them, “smoke-easies.” “There is definitely a scene going on around the city,” he says. “Consumption spaces in various forms that have been popping up pretty quickly. Some have apparently been around longer than others. Some move around, some are stationary. But the scene is evolving very, very rapidly.”

A visit to an underground club

Stan got DOPE entrée into one such, members-only club, but only if we adhered to stringent restrictions regarding information about the place; to the point where we promised to not even mention in which of New York’s five boroughs it was located. This club was away from the street; in a series of rooms where, after paying a voucher charge, the customer could come in and get comfortable on oversized couches. People either brought their own cannabis or could purchase flower, edibles and other forms of weed via a voucher at the club’s dispensary, located in one of the venue’s many rooms. The mood was accentuated by subtle lighting and a great sound system. It was a welcoming atmosphere, where it didn’t take long for strangers to get comfortable and start chatting with their neighbors on the couches while rolling potent joints on conveniently-located coffee tables. To access the club Stan says a person has to be introduced to the venue’s principal members, then approved and added to the members’ list. It has a 21-and-older age requirement, with soft drinks and CBD-infused drinks only; no alcohol. It also has a very diverse list of members and what Stan describes as an educational program for people unfamiliar with cannabis. “The club was born from the need for us to congregate,” he adds, “and almost everyone that uses cannabis is an activist in some way. So we started doing as much community outreach as we could.”

Cannabis and cabaret

Stan says there is now a wide spectrum of underground cannabis v e n u e s i n N e w Yo r k , f r o m s o m e w i t h m e m b e r s h i p s i n t h e thousands to much smaller organizations. He also introduces me to Fred (a pseudonymn), who runs one of the city’s 420-friendly entertainment venues. Fred is the director of a cabaret where patrons can openly light up and then enjoy a variety of acts, from music and magic to comedy and burlesque. The cannabis is bring-your-own, and the events are only advertised via word-of-mouth. The cannabis-friendly cabaret, Fred says, has a very diverse clientele and a real sense of community. DEFENDING OUR PLANT EVERYWHERE

“New York cannabis activists say that, as cannabis legalization grows around the country, there’s a unique need in NYC for safe and legitimate spaces where people can consume cannabis.” 47

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“It’s a vibe, it’s an energy,” he continues. “The main ingredient really is the laughter. People live such stressful lives; life is stressful in the city. It’s a place to release your stress and enjoy yourself in a relaxed environment. Also, to be challenged with ideas but encouraged to laugh and think beyond the quotidian.”

Everyone’s gone to the movies

There are also a variety of above-board artistic events for cannabis enthusiasts in New York City. High NY bills itself as a community organization and educational platform for people interested in cannabis. “We produce events in New York that are designed to bring people together through networking, education and to raise public awareness about cannabis issues,” says founder Michael Zaytsev, aka Mike Z – who stresses that High NY is not just for people looking to get into the legal cannabis industry. Mike Z is also the founder of the annual NYC Cannabis Film Festival, which showcases movies dealing with cannabis culture. The mission of the event, he says, is to “normalize and celebrate cannabis culture and undo the stigma which is largely perpetuated through films and the media.” While people might get elevated before the films, he says, “We have really good snacks, available free, but no open consumption.” He also believes that there is a huge demand in New York City for not only cannabis but also for cannabisrelated art experiences. “I’m a little spoiled because I have easier access to these things,” he continues. “But there’s a huge appetite for these kinds of experiences for the average (cannabis) consumer.”

“We don’t have to be hidden”

For now, New York State appears to have kicked the issue of recreational cannabis legalization down the road for at least another year. But people involved in NYC’s cannabis culture sense a growing acceptance of cannabis legalization in the city, and a need for cannabis-centric spaces. After all, says Stan, one of the best parts of living or being in New York is going out and enjoying the city’s culture. And that’s true for NYC’s cannabis culture. “ There’s a lot of good stuff happening for our community,” he adds. “We can get together in venues, locations and socialize. We don’t have to be hidden in the corners, the alleyways and the door fronts.”

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EDITORS CHOICE

WRITER | ANDREA LARSON

PHOTOS | COURTESY OF ICKY

ICKY STICK

WHERE THERE’S AN ICKY YOU’LL FIND THAT STICKY

vailable in an assortment of colors and sizes, Icky Sticks can be personalized for your aesthetic and smoking needs. Whether you’re looking for a personal onie or wanting to share with your crew, there’s an icky stick to fit your smoking needs. I prefer the original, which holds enough flower for eight hits, give or take. Icky has employed what it calls a “State-of-the-Art Filtration System,” into each stick, which pushes the smoke through a mazelike path for cooling before it reaches your lips. Smoke travels over one foot before being inhaled, proving that pocket-sized devices are becoming more userfriendly by the day.

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ter

t Par

PROFILE WRITER | P. GOTTI PHOTOS | COURTESY OF CROTEAM | DAVID MÜNNICH GAME GRUMPS | SNAPSHOT GAMES

ere days before April 20, 2019 the landscape of video game design shifted with the release of David Münnich’s indie-hit, “Supraland.” Münnich created the explorative game by himself, without the infrastructure and overhead that have classically supported video game design. Münnich attributed the unique yet familiar feel of the game to the subconscious influence of the Mario franchise, going on to say that “Everybody can now create and release a game … that would normally cost millions of bucks.” Gaming’s boldest new experiences are emerging from small-design teams. At 19, Gray had “never made a game before.” She co-created and led the art direction of dad-dating simulator “Dream Daddy” (2017). Leighton hit a homerun without enough people to field a baseball team. In addition to Gray, the design team includes a creative director, a design lead, two producers, a few designers as well as remote contractors. “Dream Daddy” was wildly successful, emblematic of the changing times and the unconventional conventionality of small-team game design.

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UTILIZING TALENTED FREELANCERS The large undertaking of designing a video game compels even the most dedicated creators to dip into the pool of talented international freelancers. Münnich drew crucial game elements from the free Unreal gaming engine and from his single art designer, who Münnich said immediately struck him as a “master” among a largely unimpressive lineup of freelance asset designers. Outsourcing, however, can be a risky proposition with practical limitations. Industry veteran Eric Neigher, director of marketing and publishing at Snapshot Games, spoke with DOPE Magazine as his team put final touches on the upcoming September release of “Phoenix Point.” “There are tiers to what can or should be outsourced, says Neigher, who explains further: “With a strong art-director, the drawing and animation process can thrive under a remote freelancer. User Interface is more sensitive. Core design work is crucial to the final feel and function of the game and should take place under the nose of the team’s visionar y lead.”

FINDING AN AUDIENCE

"Supraland": an engrossing, sativa-friendly masterpiece

Discoverability represents a significant challenge for small game designers at the moment. Münnich has designed games for two decades (this was not even his first major gaming release). He admitted that upon releasing “the game of [his] dreams … the most likely outcome was no success.” You could say that Münnich got very lucky. The emergence of streaming and online gaming marketplaces has not done enough to connect gamers with stellar independent games. Croteam, based out of Zagreb, Croatia, grew from humble beginnings in 1993 as a “garage game development” into one of the prominent game development studios in Eastern Europe — largely through the success of the “Serious Sam” franchise and 2014’s philosophical puzzler, “The Talos Principle.” Ante Vrdelja, CMO at Croteam, outlined two paths to indie discovery in 2019: The first entails designing marketability into a game from the start; developers should analyze cultural trends, adapt popular game mechanics and design a game that’s both fun to watch (for streaming purposes) and unique in each play-through. The second is more renegade: “There are many elite commando teams that save the world over and over, but there’s just one game [“The Talos Principle”] where you roam the garden of Eden with androids,” Vrdelja says. The thing is … Leighton Gray invented this approach as a teen in 2017. Her reaction to strategy now is reminiscent of the young “Dream Daddy” character Amanda who bemoans her dad’s unfashionable use of memes (“daaaaad!”). Gray labels the builtin marketability approach dead in 2019, the victim of overuse by publishers in a “post-‘Dream Daddy’-society.” Vrdelja’s second path for indie developers entails disregarding what’s popular, breaking every rule and creating something ambitious. Small design teams have more advantages now than ever before, and possibly more than they will ever have again. In the past decade, crowdsourcing, freemium economies, app games, and many, many more avenues for indie discovery have emerged. “Supraland” ascended to the top of the indie gaming world in 2019 without a marketing budget, on the back of one sleep-deprived designer. The natural emergence of a new, shining experience in gaming is evidence of the market’s good function. Münnich made what he loved, and the people made it hot.

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ENGAGING THE MODERN STREAMER

In "The Talos Principle," philosophical science fiction meets lasers.

TIPS FROM ERIC NEIGHER, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND PUBLISHING, SNAPSHOT GAMES 1. Identify the proper tier (low, mid, top) and category of streamer you want to work with. Top streamers command huge sums that can eat up an entire marketing budget. 2. Working with streamers is relationship-driven marketing. Companies can’t just write checks. Streamers really want developers to be responsive to feedback and audience input. 3. Game developers must involve themselves and appear authentically in streamers’ audience. Identify a streamer’s audience and figure out how to enhance their watching experience through involvements that show that developers care.

ERIC NEIGHER Director of Marketing and Publishing, Snapshot Games

Walter White is up to nothing suspicious in "Supraland.

DEFENDING OUR PLANT EVERYWHERE

Leighton's team created game characters they would want to make in "Dream Daddy.

Phoenix Point" is Julian Gallop's upcoming spiritual successor to the X-Com franchise.

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DOPE SHOTS

DOPE PHOTO CONTEST WINNER

CHECK OUT THE WINNER OF THE DOPE SHOTS PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST! WANT YOUR WORK FEATURED IN THE PAGES OF DOPE? BE ON THE LOOKOUT EACH ISSUE FOR YOUR NEXT CHANCE TO SUBMIT YOUR WORK.

CONGRATULATIONS,

JORDAN SWENSON “Sometimes there is nothing that creates balance better than imbalance. Despite their incompatibility, when placed together and viewed at a macro level, oil and water create an otherworldly landscape full of color and texture.”

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INTERVIEW 58

DEFENDING OUR PLANT EVERYWHERE

oodland dr yads and mysterious hooded figures appear on hillsides and in mossy ravines. Snow-encrusted oxen and colorful dragons stand sentry over dense, landscapes. Welcome to the imagination of artist Arik Roper. Roper occupies a venerated place among contemporary artists. His immersive illustrations appear in many contexts — from science textbooks to mead labels. Still, his most well-known work is tied to music. Throughout a career spanning more than two decades, Roper’s designs for the likes of Iron Maiden, Cathedral, Windhand and The Black Crowes have earned him a devoted following. Like Roger Dean, whose covers for progressive rockers Yes set the bar for ‘70s conceptual album art, Roper specializes in worldbuilding. “I love a lot of that stuff,” says Roper, speaking to DOPE from his home in New York City. “I’m unashamedly into a lot of fantasy artwork. Always have been.” He goes on to defend the word “escapist,” an oftmaligned descriptor. “There’s a stigma attached to that term, but I consider it a compliment.” However, in contrast to Dean’s utopian landscapes or say, the nightmarish biomechanics of H.R. Giger, Roper’s visions are earthy, based on the natural world of foliage, vegetation and yes, even fungi. “Most of the work people have seen of mine is quite organic — moss, mushrooms, wood — stuff like that. It became part of my aesthetic many years ago, probably from a childhood spent living in the woods. That’s the place where my imagination goes — where life is fertile, and nature is in charge.” Many of Roper’s landscapes exist in the forest ecosystem. “I have an interest in off-world sci-fi, but that stuff is more architectural and regimented. I prefer to work with loose forms, which lend themselves to roots and trees.” Arik Roper paintings feel otherworldly, yet oddly familiar. “Science fiction doesn’t have to be glass towers and spaceships,” he says. Whether bringing to life a tribe of pothead pilgrims known as the Weedian for Sleep’s “Dopesmoker” cover or releasing a coffee table book entitled “Mushroom Magick” (Abrams, 2009), Roper’s imagery often courts psychedelia. In the case of “Mushroom Magick,” the psilocybin connection is intentional. “It’s like seeing the mushrooms in an altered state,” he confirms. “People who have an appreciation for that type of mushroom should feel that essence in there.” Still, psychotropic voyagers aren’t Roper’s sole intended audience. “The book could also appeal to grandmothers and folks who are interested in mycology.”

Burial in Moss by Arik Roper

The Pond by Arik Roper

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And then there’s Sleep, the stoner metal trio with which he’s frequently associated. Roper doesn’t downplay his symbiotic relationship with that band. “I’ve done a lot for them and, conversely, they’ve done a lot for me. Their reputation has become so legendary, and my art has gone along with it. It’s been a mutually beneficial thing.” While his work for Sleep is undoubtedly iconic, Roper’s oeuvre is full of such highlights. The cover of Earth’s 2008 release, “The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull” (Southern Lord), is a standout. “Obviously, it’s very literal. The title is based on a quote from the Old Testament. Dylan [Carlson, vocalist-guitarist of Earth] wanted it to be very colorful and look kind of like a Hindu painting. Something vibrant as opposed to gloomy, which was in fashion for heavy music at the time.” Despite his penchant for such unconventional subject matter, Roper is formally trained; he holds a degree from New York’s School of Visual Arts. While academia provided certain benefits, his main takeaways weren’t craft exercises as much as preparation for a life in arts. “As far as technique, I developed that on my own. I’ve been drawing my whole life,” explains Roper. “SVA

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brought me to New York City, which was hugely beneficial to my career. It put me in a lot of the right places at the right times and helped me make connections. The early ‘90s were a good moment to be doing these things.” With so many musical projects in his portfolio, it seems sound could play a significant role in his creative process. “I rarely work in silence,” he confirms. “I listen to a lot of podcasts and radio — mostly history, science, esoteric stuff, spirituality, the paranormal. Often, the things I’m working on are somewhat fantastic, if not very fantastic, and that does help set the mood.” As for musical favorites, a retro theme permeates Roper’s tastes. “I don’t keep up with new music as well as I should. Of the old, I like a lot of psychedelic rock, early ‘70s ambient synthesizer stuff, krautrock.” Still, he won’t rule out the possibility of being blown away by a new discovery. “I’d love to find something I’m crazy about. Most of the time, I feel like it hasn’t been done better than it was decades ago.”

Roper’s visual inspirations are similarly removed from current trends. “I really like N.C. Wyeth and Andrew Wyeth,” he says, referencing two American giants. Roper goes on to praise Gustave Doré from the “golden age of illustration” of the 1800s and English Romantic painter JMW Turner, as well as ‘40s visionary artist Ernst Fuchs. “This may go without saying, but I like Rembrandt’s stuff — more than your average master,” Roper adds with a laugh. These painters favored the atmospheric style also prevalent in Roper’s creations. “A lot of those I’ve mentioned have a mastery of lighting and chiaroscuro. They create an environment with the lighting itself.” Roper’s workflow is entrenched in tradition. “I mostly use watercolor, gouache, pencil, and liquid ink. I’ve been scanning my stuff and delivering it that way for years.” Advances in the digital realm have begun to force their way into his process, however. “Tablet technology has gotten to the point where the responsiveness of the screen is very tight. I won’t say it’s like paper, but it’s extremely good.” So, after more than twenty years of rock illustration, does Roper have any interest in putting out a collection of his music-themed creations? “I’m going to undertake getting one published. I’ve put it off for a long time because I knew the longer I waited, the more stuff I’d have. Some people put our retrospectives after three years of working. I feel like saying, “Give it some time.”

WEBSITE INSTAGRAM

ARIKROPER.COM @ARIKROPER

Gatekeeper One by Arik Roper

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WE ALL HAVE THAT ONE FRIEND...

YOUR BEST FRIEND’S FAVORITE EXTRACT. @stickyfrog #stickyfrog phatpanda.com

High quality cannabis doesn’t have to be unattainable.

#SCOUTEDBYDOPE

WRITER | ANDREA LARSON

PHOTOS | JORDAN SWENSON

ART + FUNCTION ACCESSORIES YOU CAN GET EXCITED ABOUT

t’s the Art Issue, and as such, we wanted to showcase a few cannabis accessories that are either a bit quirky, handmade or have a unique history. We hand-selected a small assortment of cannabis accessories from Mendocino County to Berlin, Germany. Treat yourself this fall and support the arts in one swoop!

PROTO PIPE CLASSIC Handcrafted in Mendocino County by Phil and Richard Jergenson alongside an intimate team, the Proto Pipe Deluxe is celebrating over 50 years in existence. In 1968 Phil Jergenson had the vision to create a gadget for the ages – a cleanable, multi-functioning pipe to achieve that ideal “puff of magic medicine.” After placing an ad in Rolling Stone Magazine in 1972, Jergenson’s pipe dreams were off to the races, and he hasn’t looked back since. The company has had its hiccups with shady investors and trouble stemming from Regan’s War on Drugs, but nevertheless, the Proto Pipe lives on. Be sure to check out the company’s other pipes and read the About Us section of the website for the full download.

PRICE WEBSITE INSTAGRAM

$149.95 PROTO-PIPE.COM @PROTOPIPE

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EMPIRƎ GLASSWORKS – BUG’S LIFE SPOON PIPE

Empir Ǝ Glassworks pipes and accessories are fashioned via a process called lampworking, and all of their glass is either imported from Europe or from right here in the United States. Established in 2013, Empir Ǝ Glassworks has been creating vaping and smoking accessories with a team of highly skilled glassblowers. Whether you’re looking for a pipe in the shape of a doughnut, avocado, flamingo or something more whimsical like the Bug’s Life pipe featured here you’re sure to find what you’re looking for through one of the company’s online retailers. The best thing about Empir Ǝ Glassworks is that they give back. A portion of proceeds from many of the shop’s pipes goes back to benefit companies like the WWF, Coral Reef Alliance and Environmental Defense Fund to name a few.

BUG’S LIFE SPOON PIPE $120 WEBSITE EMPIREGLASSWORKS.COM IG @EMPIREGLASSWORKS

STONA GRINDER Designed in Bavaria, Stona grinders come in an assortment of colors including warm gold, pearl gray, deep gray and new silver and are a multi-use mortar, grinder and grater in one. Not only can you grind your favorite flower in it, the Stona is ideal as a kitchen accessory for slicing dried flowers and herbs. It comes with two microblades (fine and medium), cleans easily after use and has an air-sealed storage chamber. At just nearly four inches tall and a tad over three inches wide, the Stona takes up little counter space and is built from stainless steel, space-grade anodized aluminum and locally sourced wood from Bavaria. On top of all of that, taking care of your Stona is a cinch – a little bit of linseed oil toweled onto the wood is all you need to keep your mechanism running smoothly for years to come.

ONE STONA $89 TWO STONAS $167 WEBSITE IAMSTONA.COM IG @STONA_OFFICIAL

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PHOTOS | JORDAN SWENSON

CABANA KUSH CANNABIS PASSION IS IN FASHION

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t the Copa, Copacabana, music and passion were always the fashion.” Cabana Kush by American Hash Makers’ Friends With Flowers brand had me ready to whip out the fruit-hat and bust into a samba. The flower smelled like a dizzying tropical fruit medley with an OG Kush olfactory backsplash. As I am one with the dance, the effervescence that came after snapping a bowl of Cabana Kush had me moving about like Selena in her prime years of shakin’ ‘n’ bakin’.

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WRITER | JEFFREY RINDSKOPF

PHOTOS | JORDAN SWENSON

WILDSIDE CANNABISINFUSED HYDRATION WATERMELON FIZZ FOR FOCUSED RELAXATION

aybe it’s the placebo effect, but this infused soda from WildSide seems to kick in faster than most. The fizzy watermelon flavor lingers on my tongue long after swallowing, an energy drink-esque aftertaste I’d attribute to all those scientific-sounding additives on the ingredient list, like “potassium sorbate.” I drink two of the 12-ounce bottle’s three servings on one occasion, and my head rush gradually evolves into a pleasant bodily numbness, a relief on my sore knee and stiff writer’s fingers. Walking through a crowded farmer’s market proves a bit disorienting under the influence, but otherwise, I feel a stoned sense of focus – a little sluggish but immersed in what I’m doing. Relaxing but not paralyzing, this is a great beverage to sip on a lazy day while appreciating your surroundings with a calm mind and loose muscles.

PRODUCED & PROVIDED BY GREEN REVOLUTION

T HC 24.75 MG PER DRINK CB D 3.2 MG PER DRINK LABORATORY TEST PRAXIS Praxis-Laboratory.com WEBSITE INSTAGRAM

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AVAILABLE AT ALL HIGHER LEAF LOCATIONS ALL GALLERY LOCATIONS NEW VASTERDAM 6515 E MILL PLAIN BLVD

VANCOUVER, WA 98661

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F R E E *with early registration

The only national trade show focused on the retail side of the cannabis industry

October 23-24, 2019

Oregon Convention Center Portland, OR

Why Exhibit? ■ 4000+ retail attendees.

Including health food stores, cannabis retailers, vape shops, etc.

■ Focused on the retail side

of the rapidly growing legal cannabis trade

■ Dispensaries & retail buyers

from across the USA & Canada

■ Buyers from regional and national chains

For more information and to register

www.theradexpo.com. or call: 425-656-3621 Produced by Marijuana Venture, the leading business magazine for the legal cannabis industry

www.marijuanaventure.com

CONCENTRATE

WRITER & PHOTO | STEINFARM

TROPAYA PIE

PARADISE FOR YOUR BANGER FROM X-TRACTED

-Tracted’s Tropaya Pie is the perfect summer evening concentrate. With lineage in Tropicanna Cookies, Papaya and Purple Pie, this indica-heavy oil is relaxing. The tropical and gassy notes come through strong with this stuff, both with a lingering smell and taste of a tropical oasis. One thing I appreciate about X-tracted’s packaging is their attention to listing their collaborations. The flower used to make this oil was grown by Royal Tree Gardens, a producer of premium cannabis in Tacoma, and a frequent collaborator. After crushing through most of this gram, I find myself dreaming of white sand beaches and Florida coastlines.

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X-TRACTED | ROYAL TREE GARDENS

T HC 69.61% CBD TRACE CREEK ANALYTICS TEST MEDICINE MedicineCreekAnalytics.com WEBSITE INSTAGRAM TWITTER

X-TRACTED.COM @X_TRACTED @REFINESEATTLE

AVAILABLE AT CLEAR CHOICE CANNABIS – TACOMA 8001 S HOSMER ST TACOMA, WA 98408

HAVE A HEART – BELLTOWN 115 BLANCHARD ST SEATTLE, WA 98121

GREEN THEORY – FACTORIA 12827 SE 40TH PL BELLEVUE, WA 98006

PAPER AND LEAF 8040 NE DAY RD W BLDG 3

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, WA 98110

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STORE

WRITER & PHOTOS | STEINFARM

BLOOM CANNABIS – EVERETT A MODERN CANNABIS SHOP PUTTING EMPLOYEES FIRST

THE HISTORY With two locations in key demographics, Bloom Cannabis first opened its doors with their Tacoma shop in October 2017. Taking the extra time to build out their flagship Everett location — which opened December 2017 — the team at Bloom Cannabis designed this shop with the sole intent of creating a great experience for their customers to purchase and learn about the products being sold. The owners scouted General Manager Sean Corboy, who brought along a buyer from his previous position, and together they used their knowledge and insight into managing previous medical and recreational shops to create a well-thought-out experience.

THE SHOP Located on Highway 99 in North Everett, Bloom Cannabis resides in a beautiful, newly-constructed building that looks modern and feels approachable. With an all blueish-grey exterior highlighted by a splash of bright orange framing the doors and windows, the unassuming building is refreshingly devoid of anything that screams “CANNABIS!” from the outside. As unassuming as the exterior seems, the interior makes up for it. With a bright, open and somewhat flashy interior adorned with big screens, hanging shelves and lighted glass display cases, one almost feels compelled to peel to the right, where there is an ATM and display. Corboy told me the coiling design of the layout was very much intentional. “We wanted people to come in and see the sale’s case to get an idea of what we are selling, and then they move along to edibles, pre-rolls, flower, concentrates and finally to the cashier.” In the middle of this layout are a couple of tables where patrons waiting to be helped can browse a menu or read books about the effects of the cannabis plant.

THE VIBE The team understands the growing nature of this industry and the fact that more and more people are exploring the benefits of cannabis in its various forms; we aren’t all Spicoli living fast times. According to Corboy, the employees represent a wide and diverse demographic to help make everyone who walks through their doors feel comfortable to be there. This notion of making everyone feel comfortable isn’t lost in light of Bloom’s employees, either. I asked Corboy what he thought contributed the most to the vibe of the shop, I couldn’t have summed up a better attitude for a manager to have toward his employees, he said; “Treat your employees like they matter. Treat them like they are the ones actually helping to guide the ship.”

ADDRESS

11311 EVERGREEN WAY EVERETT, WA 98204 (425) 405-6700 HOURS: SUN-SAT: 8AM-12AM WEBSITE BLOOMCANNABIS.COM INSTAGRAM @BLOOM.EVERETT TWITTER @EVERETTBLOOM DEFENDING OUR PLANT EVERYWHERE

“TREAT YOUR EMPLOYEES LIKE THEY MATTER. TREAT THEM LIKE THEY ARE THE ONES ACTUALLY HELPING TO GUIDE THE SHIP.” – SEAN CORBOY, BLOOM CANNABIS GENERAL MANAGER

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celebrating

3 YEARS OF MISTER TWISTER WATERMELON

Aug 3

NATIONAL WATERMELON DAY

A POTENT OIL INFUSED PREROLL. MADE WITH PREMIUM INDOOR FLOWER AND FLAVORED WITH AUTHENTIC TERPENES.

WA R E TAI L E R S :

C AM AN O ISL AND - EVERE TT M A P L E VA L L EY - M O U NT VER N ON F R I DAY H A RBOR - SN OH O MI S H K EL SO - VA N CO U VER

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LOC A L ROOTS MA R I J UA N A G R A N I TE FA L L S - BOTHE L L E V E R E TT - E V E R E TT 12 8 TH E D M ON D S

GARDEN

WRITER | JEFFREY RINDSKOPF

PHOTOS | JAY SCHOBER

OZ GARDENZ

‘SPREADING THE LOVE’ OF CANNABIS AND FAMILY

THE PEOPLE Everyone that works at Oz Gardenz, a Tier I indoor grow in Bellingham, is family. After three decades working in videography, husband and wife Amy and Jonathan Ross decided to apply their business expertise to cannabis when they found a facility discounted on Craigslist in January 2018. With the help of their two adult sons, Parson and Andersen, they renovated the barebones space with new rolling tables, checkerboard lighting patterns, dehumidifiers, raised ceilings and a double-tiered “bedroom” with twice the growing space. For Jonathan, the resident “sommelier,” who’d been illicitly growing and consuming cannabis daily since age 13, it’s been amazing getting to pursue “the thing I’m most at peace with” for a living, but, he says, “The most rewarding part is the whole family is working together for the first time ever.”

“THEY’VE INVESTED EVEN MORE TIME AND ENERGY ON PHENOTYPE HUNTING AS THEY HAVE ON RENOVATIONS, REFINING THEIR STABLE OF NINE STRAINS OUT OF MORE THAN 60 CANDIDATES.”

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THE PRODUCT Oz Gardenz’ four flower rooms each produce about 22 pounds every eight weeks, but due to their stringent quality standards, not all of that will necessarily make it to pot shops. “If it doesn’t have the effects, the look, and the smell, then we’re not going to take it to market,” insists Amy. Utilizing Jonathan’s penchant for exhaustive research, they’ve invested even more time and energy on phenotype hunting as they have on renovations, refining their stable of nine strains out of more than 60 candidates. As well as developing “a broad spectrum of experiences,” they strive for flowers with complex fragrance and bouquet, finding the combination of terpenes and THC delivers the best experience for customers – some of whom can now identify their strains, like Slurricane or Miracle Alien Cookies (M.A.C.), through blind “scratch-n-sniff” tests alone.

THE CULTURE Ever since Parson and Andersen were kids, their parents would encourage them to “spread the love,” a Ross family mantra that’s now evolved into Oz Gardenz’ business philosophy. “Once you spend the time and get to know the plants’ lifecycle,” says Parson, “you want to bring positive energy around [the plants], and make sure the whole business is run with positive energy.” Their openness has been received with open arms, in contrast to the cutthroat film industry they came from, with neighbors in their cannabis-oriented business complex freely sharing knowledge and offering support. Down the line, Amy and Jonathan are looking to expand into a larger Tier II facility with an additional 10,000 square feet of growing space, before passing on control to their sons, making this a real, intergenerational family business. “We feel when we’re creating this product, we’re spreading the love, sharing this medicine with people that are in need of it,” Amy elaborates. “It goes along with the culture of cannabis, which is love, share, be well.”

WEBSITE INSTAGRAM

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OZGARDENZ.COM @OZ_GARDENZ

RECIPE

WRITER & PHOTO | LAURIE + MARYJANE

ELEVATED PESTO AN ODE TO SUMMER’S MOST VERSATILE SAUCE

reshly made pesto is one of summer’s gifts. This beautiful, nutrient-dense and versatile sauce is easy to make and only requires a handful of easily accessible ingredients. Around here, we use it on pasta, sandwiches, chicken or fish, as well as part of this sporty composed salad. Making the bicycle is up to you; however, I think that you are never too old to stop playing with your food. I never have, and I never will. Make the bicycle, be-spoked. This pesto is made with toasted walnuts, as the traditional pine nuts have gotten way too expensive for my budget. I always toast nuts before using; it brings out the flavor and makes the nuts crunchier. The basil can be substituted with arugula or kale, I’d still go with the toasted walnuts*. #Dontfeartheedible!

WEBSITE INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

Y IELD S | 1 cup

In the bowl of a food processor combine the basil, garlic and walnuts and pulse till coarsely chopped.

Drizzle in ½ cup of the olive oil while the machine is running. Add salt and pepper to taste and drizzle in the remaining oil. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the cheese.

2 c. Fresh basil leaves, rinsed and patted dry 2 Cloves garlic, chopped 1/3 c. Toasted walnuts* 1/2 c. Extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp. Canna-infused oil 1/3 c. Freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese Salt and pepper to taste

LAURIEANDMARYJANE.COM @LAURIEANDMARYJANE @LAURIEANDMARYJANE

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* To toast walnuts place them on a baking sheet with sides. In a 325°F oven, bake the nuts for 5-10 minutes, until they smell toasted and are a shade darker.

PRODUCT

WRITER & PHOTO | STEINFARM

PINEAPPLE SOCIETY CBD HEMP COFFEE KICK THAT FOLGERS TO THE CURB

ineapple Society Hemp has created a fullspectrum CBD oil infused coffee liable to kick you off your favorite Folgers cup of joe. The extra dark French Roast is a blend of AA quality beans from Central America deep roasted to a black-purple color, creating a sweet and smoky flavor with a hint of chocolate. The added CBD oil is a CO2 extraction of high-quality and organically-grown Colorado hemp. I hadn’t tried CBD coffee before this review; however, I had heard of the benefits of adding CBD oil to coffee. I’m here to tell you, at least when it comes to Pineapple Society’s blends, this stuff works just as advertised. I realized after my second cup that an upset stomach didn’t accompany it. In fact, I didn’t even finish the second cup because of how alert I felt — no jitters, no crash, just a nice slow burn of caffeine to keep the gears moving.

PRODUCED & PROVIDED BY PINEAPPLE SOCIETY HEMP

CB D 56.25 MG

PER 4OZ BAG

TEST WEBSITE INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK

GREEN LEAF LAB greenleaflab.org

PINEAPPLESOCIETYHEMP.COM @PINEAPPLESOCIETYHEMP @PINEAPPLESOCIETYHEMP

AVAILABLE ONLINE AT PINEAPPLESOCIETYHEMP.COM

PRICE

$27.99

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SUSTAINABILITY 86

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emp makers have a long legacy of crafting decorative and functional home adornments. Hemp’s fibrous dexterity resisted mechanization during the agricultural revolution of the 1800s, and so hemp fell out of favor as national focus shifted to the mass production of crops like cotton. Hemp has returned to relevance, due to its myriad of current and potential uses in many industries alongside the popularity of both medicinal and recreational cannabis. Rising awareness of hemp’s durability, sustainability and function have accompanied hemp’s overdue return to home décor.

SUSTAINABLE INSPIRATION Karen Conabeare grew up in Cornwall, a fishing harbor on the southern coast of England. She spent her early years traveling the world with her mother and father, an officer in the English Merchant Navy. Beech House Studio is Conabeare's online storefront for her craftwork inspired by the folk art of old sailors at sea. Conabeare employs hemp, jute and manila in the Beech House home decor line, which includes both western and nautical-inspired rope rugs, doorstops, doorknobs and much more. She uses hemp, in particular, because it’s durable, easy to clean, visually appealing and good for the environment. Hemp uses about 50 percent of the water required in cotton production and Beech House hemp is sourced from a self-sufficient homestead family farm in Vancouver, BC.

CREATING HEALTHIER HOMES Pam Wheelock owns Purrfect Play, one of the only independent pet toy stores operating in the US for the last decade. Purrfect Play’s toys, collars and leashes are 100 percent organic and made in America with no synthetics, dyes or plastics. Wheelock’s dog toys are entirely made from hemp, by hand. “A dog will destroy just about anything” says Wheelock, “but hemp holds up and dogs love hemp!” Wheelock says that natural, chemical-free hemp solves an industry-wide problem: pet toys are not subject to chemical testing and produced overseas as cheaply as possible. These products, says Wheelock, inevitably leach chemicals contained in synthetic dyes and plastics into a dog’s saliva through regular use. Wheelock’s big challenge in creating a line of hemp toys was coming up with designs that wouldn't kill them to make. Hemp can break needles, clog machines and dull scissors in a day. Additionally, hemp is different, year to year, and even batch to batch. “Mother nature’s idea of perfection,” says Wheelock.

A woven hemp rug from Conabeare's Beech House Studio.

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SPREADING WHOLE-PLANT EDUCATION Erika Bonenfant loves cannabis and its transformative influence. “When someone walks out with a vibrant and colorful cannabis leaf or an intricately woven hemp piece” states Bonenfant, “they carry a talking point and magnet for future education about cannabis.” Bonenfant wanted to open a storefront for her hand-made cannabis crafts, but her local municipality in Augusta, Maine, barred such a cannabis-forward business idea. When it became apparent that CBD storefronts were exempt from those same regulations, she opened the KannaCraft Shop, a cannabis craft store and CBD dispensary. The entire cannabis plant is used in the KannaCraft Shop product line, which includes hemp macramé pieces, dreamcatchers built with plant stalks as a foundation and vibrant cannabis leaves sealed in epoxy. Working with hemp, says Bonenfant, is “tough and rough, but grounding.” Hemp adds a distinctive natural flair into home decoration. It is at the same time visually iconic and also capable of enduring bumps, bruises, tears and spills.

Hemp Catnip Mouse crafted by Purrfect Play.

BEECH HOUSE STUDIO (KAREN CONABEARE) ETSY

@BEECHHOUSESTUDIO

PURRFECT PLAY (PAM WHEELOCK) WEBSITE

PURRFECTPLAY.COM

THE KANNAKRAFT SHOP (ERIKA BONENFANT) FACEBOOK

@THEKANNAKRAFTSHOP

MACRAMÉ ART (JOLANTA SURMA)

WEBSITE

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MACRAME-ART.COM

The KannaKraft Shop in Augusta, Maine.

THE PINNACLE OF ENDURING TRADITIONS Jolanta Surma has woven hemp into macramé pieces for the last 35 years. “I improvise and create as I go” says Surma of her master-level craft, adding “the finished product can look very different from what I imagined in the first place.” Surma employs knotting, a robust form of weaving, to create beautiful and durable hanging works of macramé art. Macramé is typically exhibited during weddings or as a rugged, decorative element around the home. Her online storefront, Macrame Art, grants her work visibility beyond her workshop in the small town of Złotów, Poland. In 2012, her works were featured in Tim Burton’s film “Dark Shadows.” In Poland, unlike in the US, high-quality hemp is widely available. Surma sources twine from local friends’ crops, nurseries and even large construction stores. North American hemp artisans generally source their hemp twine and hemp canvas from other continents, adding to the final product’s cost. North American artists lament the added costs, which they are often unwilling to pay for. Functional and decorative hemp creations are luxury purchase items on the very fringe of affordability, rather than an everyday, locally-made alternative to mass-produced plastics. Hemp’s visibility is surging on the wave of interest in cannabis that’s crashing against America’s crumbling legacy of prohibition. Industrial hemp is increasingly recognized for its use in many forms. Unlike during the 1800s, today’s machining is more capable of processing hemp, if and when massive investment into the production of these machines takes place. At that point, the carriers of the hand-made hemp tradition will become mavens; informing the templates and prototypes of the everyday hemp crafts that adorn our homes.

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FEATURE 92

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For an artist like Brian Pollett, it’s safe to say his work wouldn’t exist without help from a wide array of mind-altering substances. The San Francisco-based digital artist’s most publicized series to date was his 2016 “Binge Project,” which entailed taking a different recreational drug and rendering an illustration of each experience for 20 consecutive days. The results, all variations of a floating head in profile, show details corresponding to each drug’s cultural associations and effects, from trichome tendrils and an emerald third eye for THC to a skull x-ray and neon eye laser for the anesthetic MXE (methoxetamine), Pollett’s favorite substance for creating. “[I]t put me in this chaotic mindset, often a present mindset,” he explains, “where I could create honestly and was inspired by and had this great appreciation for everything I saw.” “I would assume there [are] a lot of artists in the past who have felt the same way. I can imagine a caveman eating mushrooms and thinking painting on the wall is probably the coolest thing ever.” Stanley Krippner — a founding professor of psychology specializing in consciousness at Oakland’s Saybrook University — is one of many who espouses the entheogen theory that psychoactive substances played a pivotal role in mankind’s earliest artistic and spiritual practices. Modern research findings that psiloc ybin treatments can inspire mystical experiences add to the existing evidence of ritualistic drug use throughout human history, like stone sculptures of mushrooms emerging from the heads of gods from 1500 B.C., or cave art connected to Native Americans’ peyote rituals going back even further.

“When people took psychedelic substances, they saw the world differently, and they wanted to communicate what they saw,” Krippner tells DOPE. “They could [relay what they saw] in a story, but since the effects were so visual, it was probably easier to draw, paint, sculpt or dance what they saw.” Though seldom acknowledged, drugs have continued their profound impact on humanity’s artistic and other creative endeavors to this day. While caffeine and alcohol are widely accepted as prerequisites for accomplishing workday tasks and entering unfamiliar social environments respectively, cannabis has been used as a subjective performance enhancer for centuries, becoming an integral part of American pop culture through its embrace by Jazz Age pioneers like Louis Armstrong. However, only psychedelics, the loosely defined class of hallucinogens credited with early spiritual practices, have inspired their own subgenre spanning artistic disciplines. Before Silicon Valley coders began micro-dosing for productivity boosts, the popularity of LSD in the ‘60s spawned new waves of abstract visual art and acid rock,

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rock, characterized by droning vibrations, “emotional ambiguity” and “interest in novel sensations.” Some who claimed its influence on their work include The Beatles, Lewis Carroll, Steve Wozniak and Nobel Prize winner Sir Francis Crick, who told friends that the doublehelix structure of DNA came to him during an LSD session. In a 1969 survey Krippner conducted of 180 artists who’d had psychedelic experiences, as well as noting common themes in the content, approach and execution of their work, he concluded that psychedelics enable one to think beyond their culturally imposed frameworks – a major factor in any creative innovation (not to mention belief in a “higher power”) – citing effects like fluency of thought, problem-solving motivation, relaxed ego boundaries and mythmaking tendencies. The studied effects of psychedelics to increase the “Big Five” personality trait of openness to experience back up this ability to expand anyone’s perspective, more often than not, for good – even when the trip itself is perceived as “bad.”

“An experience I had on DMT … felt like I was trapped in hell,” Pollett relates, for example. “When I came out of that, I felt like all my first world problems don’t really matter that much. It just put things into a perspective that was more meaningful.” This doesn’t mean just anyone taking a dose can win a Nobel prize or record the next “Revolver.” While increased appreciation for music and art is a common takeway from psychedelic experiences, these compounds tend to only make artists, scientists, spiritual leaders, etc. more engaged and intentional about what they already do, though there are exceptions like Isaac Abrams, who discovered his passion for drawing on LSD, but followed up with education and continued practice. “There’s a whole chain of events after one takes a psychedelic and wants to portray it in some way,” says Krippner. “I think psychedelics don’t help too much with the expression part of it; they help with the perceptual part of it.” Indeed, far from performance enhancers, many in Krippner ’s sur vey reported they couldn’t perform or render anything artistically

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on psychedelics, while those that do usually show poorer technical execution and self-evaluation skills. Funnily enough, this relaxation of our normal, critical selves may be key to our enjoyment and achievements spawned from psychoactive drugs, including cannabis – by increasing our subjective feelings of creativeness, they make it easier to fully immerse ourselves in whatever we’re doing, a state of effortless “flow” invaluable for actually creating. “It helped me create very presently,” Pollett recalls of MXE. “I’m not thinking about how many likes this will get on Instagram or whatever. It is what it is, and I’m enjoying it, and I can express in this moment.” Though many drugs may aid creativity, too much of any one can easily be the death of it. Even non-habit-forming psychedelics can have their consciousness-limiting downsides if one becomes dependent on them to create, as Pollett, now almost two years sober, reports: “It’s difficult for me to make art now because I’m not getting that dopamine drip from a drug that’s saying, ‘What you’re doing is really good.’” New experiences stimulate creativity, and drugs offer a concrete way to change our perceptions, leading to new experiences even with familiar objects and settings, which we then want to communicate through whatever means are available to us. They are tools for affecting human consciousness and, like all tools, can be used for good or ill. Drawing a parallel between drug-induced states and those achieved by meditation or other “peak experiences,” Krippner suggests it’s the diversity and fluidity of mindsets to draw upon that can improve not only the creativity of an artist’s output but mental health more generally, as isolated therapies using psilocybin and ketamine as well as hypnosis have all been shown to treat conditions like depression and bipolar disorder better than the current pharmaceutical regimens. Though long demonized (literally) by Western institutions like the Catholic church, altered states of consciousness help us recontextualize problems and meet universal human needs for meaning and “curiosity,” which can be harder to satisfy in a crowded world with few remaining frontiers. “I think the same curiosity that propelled the astronauts propelled what we might call the psychonauts,” explains Krippner. “It’s not given that much credit, but I think curiosity, the need to discover, the desire to know more, is an underlying trait in both of these expeditions, both outer space and inner space.”

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CULTURE 96

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SENSUAL, STUNNING ROPE BONDAGE WRITER | GIANNA SPANGLER PHOTOS | COURTESY OF FRED RX

Shibari is an ancient form of Japanese rope bonding that is fueled by a connection between the person doing the tying, the “rigger” and the individual being bound. Its origins are intricately tied to the Samurai tradition during the Edo period (the 1600s to the mid-1800s), which remained in use regularly until WWII. Samurai used a martial art called hojōjutsu to restrain prisoners with cord or rope. In the late 1800s, hojōjutsu began to take on erotic elements, and eventually transformed into an erotic art form called ‘kinbaku,’ meaning “the beauty of tight binding.” In the West this type of binding is often referred to as Shibari. Those involved in the Shibari community experience rope as a transcendental art form, an erotic liberation, an immersion into new and fresh spaces. It is a beautiful display of the human body, defying gravity and showing angles of the human form that we rarely see in our daily lives. Before rope bondage ensues, the rigger establishes boundaries in an effort to keep the tying safe, consensual and a wholly positive experience for those involved. The waltz between pain and pleasure characteristic of the BDSM scene is not the primary objective of Shibari, though it does play its role. There is an evocative tenderness that permeates the atmosphere at tying events, and what emerges is sensational living, breathing human art.

DISPLAY OF THE HUMAN BODY

To learn more about the Shibari scene, DOPE sat down with Averie, an enigmatic rope enthusiast with three and a half years of tying under her belt. When asked what it was about rope bondage that connected with her, she responds, “Shibari is beautiful and serene. When I first saw it, I was amazed by the stunning display of the human body. The connection between the two people was powerful and beautiful, like a dance. There is beauty in the vulnerability of seeing people in their most pure form.” As a rigger, Averie takes care to receive proper consent from those she is tying. Miscommunications do happen, but she emphasizes the importance of minimizing risk through effective communication early on in the process. Communicating risks, hard limits, soft limits, wants, relevant history with Shibari and medical history are essential when being tied, and understanding that it is not a “one size fits all” experience is fundamental to the art form. Different dynamics exist between different sets of people, and partners must assess one another and set limitations. Consent flows both ways, and when utilized properly, can give birth to transcendental experiences and mind-blowing sensations.

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OUT OF THE SHADOWS

Averie, like most of the community, would like to see Shibari shadows. Most people who are involved with the rope scene have to live “double lives,” using pseudonyms and keeping their social media accounts private. Many do not want to be subjected to judgement from those outside of the community who disapprove of the kink/BDSM lifestyle, so they remain hypervigilant in their lives to keep the areas separate. Maintaining this level of privacy can be exhausting, but the tides have been turning in favor of normalizing kink and, by extension, Shibari. Today, more and more people are opening up to the possibilities of kink as a lifestyle. Popular media is normalizing kink though films, television and other mediums, and kink communities have been multiplying across the country. Averie has seen Shibari in the Pacific Northwest grow in the past several years, and she is excited to see it continue to grow. She feels that “something magical happens when somebody discovers kink” and it is as though they are “stepping into the world for the first time with avenues of open possibilities.”

“SOMETHING MAGICAL HAPPENS WHEN SOMEBODY DISCOVERS KINK, WHEN YOU SEE SOMEONE NEW TO THE SCENE IT IS LIKE THEY’RE STEPPING INTO THE WORLD FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH AVENUES OF OPEN POSSIBILITIES.” – AVERIE

SHIBARI 101: TIPS FOR BEGINNERS Start slow, determine what attracts you to the art form and your end goal for learning the craft. Check your ego at the door. Accept that there is a strong learning curve. If you are a rigger, frustration is inevitable. Patience is key. When you learn a new tie, take pictures every step of the way so that it can be replicated. If you are being tied, be sure to establish strong boundaries with your rigger beforehand. Go with your instinct. If something doesn’t feel right, say something. Learn about yourself: how to speak up for yourself, how to be in tune with your body.

Understand miscommunication and mistakes happen, and it is important to learn from them in order to get the most from the experience.

Get ready for

BOWL

season with

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These products have intoxicating effects and may be habit-forming. Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgment. Do not operate vehicles or machinery under the influence of this drug. There my be health risks associated with the consumption of the product. For use only by adults 21 and older. Keep out of the reach of children.

INTERVIEW 100

ello and welcome to ASMR Crafting with Sayuri and Gabby La La,” whisper mustache clad dynamic duo Sayuri Kimbell and Gabby La La at the beginning of their video “Candy Friendship Sandwich.” Currently projected on the big screen, they make a rainbow, buttery and super sweet candy sandwich. The two film a candid and hilarious tutorial after gathering all the necessary sandwich ingredients — Skittles, chocolate syrup, croissants, sprinkles. The film is laced with psychedelic pop art and dead serious attitude, a seriousness that survives only until the second they share a bite of the sandwich subsequently bursting into laughter. The laughter an indication of how that sandwich must have been beyond sweet! They produce videos in the fringe YouTube genre ASMR, which stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, and has become an internet phenomenon. Persons who experience ASMR can experience sensations like cerebral tingling in response to gentle stimulus like whispering — these sensations can be sensual and pleasant, and those with ASMR have turned to YouTube to supply them.

“People used to have to ask for that intimacy and now you can YouTube it,” shares La La. Natural born artists, Kimbell and La La won funniest video at the first SPLIFF Film Festival with short “Candy Friendship Sandwich.” I attended the Victoria Theater San Francisco showing with them in early May as we giggled and passed around candy. “One person commented on our Instagram, ‘This video made me laugh so hard I almost peed my pants!’ Every time someone watches our video and pees a little maybe an angel gets their wings!” La La jokes. La La is a musician, fashion designer and video artist from Petaluma residing in Oakland. Kimbell’s artistry in multimedia drives her passion to create book art, prints, ceramics and videos. Kimbell lives in Portland and hails from Los Angeles. Both have led artisanal lives since childhood. “The art we make is how we sustain ourselves as creative individuals,” says La La. “Just like we need water, food and air. If you’re a creative person you need to feed your creative spirit.” Kimbell learned about SPLIFF Film Festival through the local alt weekly, the Portland Mercury.

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“THE ART WE MAKE IS HOW WE SUSTAIN OURSELVES AS CREATIVE INDIVIDUALS,” SAYS LA LA. “JUST LIKE WE NEED WATER, FOOD AND AIR. IF YOU’RE A CREATIVE PERSON YOU NEED TO FEED YOUR CREATIVE SPIRIT.” 101

DOPEMAGAZINE.COM

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The progress they made since participating makes them feel super legit, as La La resonates “inspired, valued and visible.” The film showed in Seattle, Portland and San Francisco. What is to come of the festival prize money? “I’m going to bring my share to the bank, turn it into ones and take a money bath,” says Kimbell. “We ended up splitting our prize money. I’m going to use my share for applying to more film festivals. I want to use some of the money to do a spa day with Gabby!” So it’s settled. Creative budget, couples massage and… “Let’s go out for pho too!” exclaims a thrilled La La. She will put her share into making her new album “Black Rainbow,” applying the money toward supporting artists who help create the visuals for the album’s release. La La and Kimbell met at an art event called “Super Chillness Activity Zone” at Oakland’s Naming Gallery. La La played Sitar and Kimbell was making custom patches for gallery attendees. They couldn’t ignore their twin qualities and had to collaborate. They decided to make unscripted short videos that insert positivity and good old-fashioned weirdness onto the web. They integrate their personality through Kimbell’s visual artistry, audio from La La’s song collection and collaborative twinning fashion. Friendship is their most valued priority. “We couldn’t have gotten this far if we weren’t friends. It’s a lot of give and take running ideas by the other person. We make sure the other is comfortable. We do a great job being honest,” says Kimbell. “I think content about friendship is important especially portraying friendships between two women of color. I never grew up seeing two friends who looked like me. I’m putting out what I want to see more [of].” They were introduced to ASMR through filmmaker and producer Siciliana Trevino two years ago. Ever since, they’ve been curating and producing ASMR Crafting videos as a means to strengthen their friendship through art. “We are both manic people who don’t know how to just hang out. We have to do a project to hang out,” says Kimbell. ASMR’s whispering element calms people down and can balance energy. It brings everyone onto a level playing field and draws attention inward. It feels like being let in on something private, or secretive. The internet was a vessel for ASMR, though Kimbell sees it as a tool that fills a void that the internet creates. Technology can take away and give back to us. “ASMR speaks to a larger discussion of digital technology as something that depletes, yet nourishes our souls,” notes Kimbell. “It’s a crazy tool we have, for example, if you’re lonely and eating by yourself you can turn on a video of someone eating so you don’t feel alone.” La La adds, “Hey Sayuri, I was just wondering if you could come over and run your fingers through my hair while I fall asleep. You would do that for me if the wi-fi went out right? You know who your real friends are when the wi-fi goes out.”

SEPTEMBER 23RD SAYURI AND GABBY LA LA WILL BE SCREENING “BEST OF ASMR CRAFTING” AT THE RENDEZVOUS IN SEATTLE. IN ADDITION, LA LA WILL PLAY A CONCERT ON THE SAME BILL WITH SPECIAL GUESTS.

OCTOBER 6-11TH KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED FOR SAYURI AND GABBY LA LA AT DRUNKEN FILM FESTIVAL IN OAKLAND DRUNKENFILMFEST.COM

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HISTORICAL FICTION

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e shouldn’t be surprised that the journal Vegetation Histor y & Archaeobotany recently published a study revealing cannabis was first used on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. It should also come as no surprise that the guy who made it so popular was named Bud. Bud went by many names; Gautama, Shakyamuni, Siddhartha and Buddha. But to his friends, he was known as Bud. Like many young people of the area in that time, Bud spent every waking moment seeking enlightenment as spiritual awakening was the highest order. One of the first paths to enlightenment Bud chose was Jainism, the Indian religion whose teachings told him to become an ascetic. Bud‘s friend and mentor, Alara Kalama, who introduced him to the lifestyle. The philosophy was to abandon all sensual pleasures and lead a life of abstinence in the pursuit of redemption and salvation. This was an era where the holiness of a person was determined by how little they connected with themselves and everything around them. Bud loved meditating and found some great concepts in the Jainism teachings and ascetic life, but he was a reformist and decided to redesign and repurpose the philosophy into his own. The repurposing was thanks to cannabis. Bud loved cannabis; this can be seen in his teachings, his smiling eyes and his well-fed belly. Bud loved him some cannabis! But being a deep meditator and requested lecturer, he preferred not to smoke his sacrament, but instead, drink it. He found no need to mess with his vocal cords and pranayama. Whether it goat or yak milk, Bud always had a small cup of it next to him, and eventually got his old friend and mentor to indulge. In his older age, Alara Kalama would soften his fundamentalist views and this was said to be because his spiritual buddy, the Buddha, had introduced him to this cannabis drink later known as bhang. Bhang, a simple pleasure that no earthling should deny themselves of … a milky gateway to Nirvana.

Ingredients

Instructions

YIE L DS | 2 servings

Mix all ingredients in a pot.

3-6 grams Decarboxylated cannabis 1 can Light coconut milk (13.5 fluid ounces) 2 c. Water 4 slices Fresh ginger 1 Cinnamon stick 2 Black peppercorns (whole) 2 Cloves (whole) 1 Cardamom pod 1 tbsp. Black, green or yerba mate tea 1/4 c. Honey

Simmer on low to medium heat for 20 minutes, continuing to stir throughout. Do not let your bhang boil.

Let cool, strain and then sip your way to nirvana.

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GLASS

WRITER & PHOTO | WIND HOME

ARTISTS | KEVIN MURRAY, BIG Z AND GRAMPAFACETS

THIS PIECE WILL HAVE THE WOLVES HOWLIN’ A COLLAB FOR THE BOOKS

s the Art Issue approached, I knew we had to feature a piece from Oregon-based glass artist Kevin Murray. The decision was difficult, but I chose this gorgeous three-way collaboration by Kevin Murray, Big Z and GrampaFacets. All three of these artists are at the top of their game, so it’s a privilege to view a piece by this power trifecta. If you’re a glass enthusiast … you know what I mean. The piece was completed in early June 2019 right before the DFO (Degenerate Flame Off) Family Reunion. It was crafted for the After Party Gallery Show that Murray participated in during the DFO weekend. It stands six and a half inches tall with a removable 14-10mm down stem and two-hole diffuser. All three artists specialize in different components of glass blowing so you can imagine that a ton of collaboration and thought went into the execution of this piece. From Murray’s carefully crafted stringer work and GrampaFacets elegant cuts to Big Z’s rich fumed sections featuring encased opal chips, this piece is artistically worked and perfectly honed from top to bottom. Those interested in purchasing the piece should contact Stash Box Gallery.

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INSTAGRAM

@KEVINMURRAYGLASS | @BIGZGLASS | @GRAMPAFACETS

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