Cannabis Art and Fashion

Many cannabis advocates truly believe in the way it allows you to enjoy and appreciate art, music, and culture much more thoroughly. Ask the average person about what they would consider to be cannabis art and they’ll likely answer with tie-dyed shirts or Grateful Dead-themed imagery.

While those are entirely legitimate replies, there’s much more in the way of cannabis-inspired art out there and much of it flies under the radar of what is considered to be good art. That’s unfortunate, as it’s always been true that some of the best artists—whether that’s a painter, a sculptor, a jeweler, a writer, a musician, or any other type— have produced some of their best work when their creative genius is heightened by cannabis.

Cannabis clothing is probably the most readily visible form of the subculture that some marijuana aficionados belong to. It’s not surprising to see young people copying their musical idols and sporting t-shirts, hats, and other wearables that have the classic 7-point green leaf image or the red, green, and yellow striping that is immediately associable with Rastafarian culture.

But that’s just scratching the surface of what cannabis art is. So, let’s have a look at some other forms of cannabis-inspired art, cannabis-inspired fashion, and the artists who create them.

A Certain ‘Kind’ of Art

Cannabis art is emerging as its own genre in the art world, and online resources like artfourtwenty.com are putting this art work on display for one and all to appreciate. There’s even a Pinterest page for cannabis-inspired art.

One of the first things you learn about the form is that many of the pieces do not use direct marijuana imagery in their composition. Instead, much of cannabis art is based around its own slant on interpretive imagery themes. This means that the art is designed to promote individual takes on what it is, what, if any, significance there is to it, and just how all the individual parts of the piece come together to make the whole.

There is also an emerging group of artists who can be loosely grouped under this umbrella of cannabis artists. Blake Alexander, Johnie Thornton, and Las Vegas-based artist Smash are 3 of the more renowned of them.

Each of them was prominently featured in the first cannabis-themed international art competition ‘High Art’ 2018, held earlier this year. It was a resounding success and organizers are planning to make it a yearly event. The aim of the competition is to celebrate the cannabis plant’s inspirational properties and the contributions it has made to fine art over many decades now.

Other artists known for creating cannabis inspired art are Bill Hope, Jacques Bartel, Pancho Vasquez, Pedro Lozano, and muralist Ernest Doty. There are even cannabis themed toys and curios. The ones that are becoming the best known of the bunch are the Incredibuds— hand-painted resin caricatures that resemble a marijuana bud come to life. They’re really quite something!

Threads for Heads

There’s no more readily visible form of cannabis art than through the medium of cannabis fashion. Cannabis clothing will always have something of a counterculture identity attached to it. But less so these days given shifting public perception and how smokers are no longer immediately seen as degenerates or anything else of the sort.

With that said, there really is much more selection out there for people who want to share their fondness for cannabis via their attire. Naturally, a number of different producers have popped up to cater to them and ride the wave of popularity that cannabis is currently on across North America. Well-known ones among them include:

• Stonerdays
• Green Arbor Clothing
• Cookies SF
• Shatter Clothing

There’s also much more in the way of selection these days when it comes to cannabis clothing. Whereas before you had only t-shirts and ball caps, you can now put your love of the herb on display with everything from hoodies to socks and swimsuits, yoga pants and skinny jeans, beanies and headwraps, and more.

We’d be omitting a very important part of this if we didn’t mention that most cannabis clothing is made from genuine hemp. Even if more widely accepted, hemp is still cannabis and, as such, can be included here.

Hemp clothing is generally more comfortable and breathable than cotton. When blended with cotton, it produces a nice, lightweight yet durable fabric that is totally biodegradable. It is also 98% UV resistant and becomes softer and more comfortable with age. If you’re now thinking hemp clothing might be ideal for warm, summer weather, you’re exactly right!

Clothing made from hemp has an inherent connection to the save-the-planet movement because it’s a smart textile alternative to trees or plants that are much more vital to environmental balance. Like most people, we hope that such a connection is embraced by greater numbers of people around the world.

In any case, cannabis art is welcome to serve as a representation of changing attitudes around the world regarding all the medicinal and industrial applications of the cannabis plant. More simply, a lot of cannabis-inspired art and clothing is just plain cool!