High Art Is Low Key at Puff, Pass & Paint

“Weed and art are my favorite things!” exclaims Heidi Keyes, founder of Puff, Pass & Paint. “I was working as an artist and living in Denver. Right before legalization, a friend of mine and I were chatting. She said, ‘You know those wine and art classes? You should do one with weed!'” With one trial Facebook post, Keyes attracted a full class of friends.

Given the inherent allure of that liberating art-and-weed combo, Puff, Pass & Paint grew organically—and fast.

“We now have seven locations: Denver, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Oakland, Las Vegas, and Portland,” Keyes tells Culture Trip. “I travel around, and we also have local artists who conduct classes. We get students, bachelor and bachelorette parties, couples, singles, families (as long as everyone is over 21!) … People surprise you. We see older women in their 70s, people in their 20s bringing their grandparents, and people coming alone to make friends in class.”

Whether you’re a trained artist or a total amateur, Puff, Pass & Paint encourages the exploration of creativity with a little confidence boost, courtesy of cannabis.

“A lot of people have painted before, many haven’t,” Keyes explains. “At least half of our participants say they haven’t painted since kindergarten! So they come in and they’re nervous. Making art—and enjoying making art—is something you need to be relaxed to do. Sometimes they’ll say, ‘But I don’t know how to paint!’ And I’m like, ‘That’s okay, light up a joint!'”

All Puff, Pass & Paint classes encourage creativity, but they’re consistently light-hearted. “We keep it relatively easy,” assures Keyes. “A lot of people choose to do their own thing, which is really cool. They get into it and develop their own style.” She says that it’s gratifying to give local artists the opportunity to make money while teaching their craft, but it’s also a chance to show people that cannabis is fun and therapeutic.

Outside the roster of classes on offer through Puff, Pass & Paint and parent company CannabisTours.com (to include Puff, Pass & Pottery, Puff, Pass & Pastry, Puff, Pass & Pamper, Puff, Pass & Pincushion, and a Lit on Lit writing class) Puff, Pass & Paint works with veterans and people who require cannabis for medical purposes. For a full list of upcoming classes around the country, click here.

“Art and cannabis together is such a great, complementary combination,” Keyes says excitedly. “Our participants make art because of weed.”