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<p>We met as strangers to ourselves and each
other but, in just two hours, you leave with an understanding that art connects
us in ways we sometimes fail to acknowledge.</p>
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<p>The hustle and bustle of everyday work and life faded away as effortlessly as incense wafted through the Epican Café and Lounge at the Marketplace in Kingston.</p>
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<p>A subtle but recognisably steady vibration from the surrounding music reminds you that <strong>Puff &amp; Paint</strong> is far from what you had expected.</p>
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<p>Not often as a journalist do I get to experience a new way of expression first hand. I’ve been most comfortable with words, but I was assured that tonight, through colour, my point of view would be different; and it was.</p>
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<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>"I wanted to show the effect marijuana [can] have for persons in that creative process."</p><cite>⁠— Rozi Chung tells the BUZZ team</cite></blockquote>
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<p>Two canvas, one pre-rolled joint and a palette over two hours. That’s the simple brilliance of <strong>Puff &amp; Paint</strong>.&nbsp; </p>
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<p>It’s just something you must see, feel, taste and hear on a personal level to truly believe and appreciate but I must say the experience was amazing.</p>
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<p>Watch highlights of <strong>Puff &amp; Paint</strong> in the video below:</p>
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<p><strong>BUZZ</strong> caught up with conceptualiser for <strong>Puff &amp; Paint</strong>, Master painter Rosemarie Chung, who attests to the programme’s specialised qualities.</p>
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<p>According to Chung, to get a genuine
experience of art through medical marijuana, one needs to leave their
expectations at the door.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/08/puff-and-paint-buzz-5-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-5160" /><figcaption>(Standing in focus) Rosemarie Chung, creator of the Puff &amp; Paint art initiative at Epican in Kingston.</figcaption></figure>
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<p>“The programme basically is using marijuana with the creative arts, specifically painting. My focus is on non-artists and what I wanted to do was show the effect marijuana [can] have for persons in that creative process,” she explained.</p>
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<h2>First canvas: Connecting with your African roots</h2>
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<p>“You’re painting with very little instructions, but I do have a reference that I start you with, which are symbols that our foreparents used: the Adinkra symbols from Ghana,” 'Rozi' Chung told <strong>BUZZ</strong>.</p>
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<p>A panel of 20 Adinkra symbols were lain out in front of us, with the instruction being very simple, “Choose what calls to you”.</p>
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<p>Being the careful intellect I assume I am,
I choose ‘knowledge’ and attempted the best I could to replicate the intricate
design in the half-hour window we were given.</p>
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<h2>‘Puffing’, onto the 2nd canvas: Freestyle with colours</h2>
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<p>Then came the fun part: ‘puffing’. There was nothing really special about the pre-rolled joint handed to us by the staff at Epican, but its contents begged to differ.</p>
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<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>"Puff &amp; Paint is a way to start a journey of self-expression. Paint how you feel, use anything that comes naturally in your mind"</p><cite>⁠— Rosemarie Chung, conceptualiser of Puff &amp; Paint</cite></blockquote>
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<p>Inside was the powerful ‘Lamb’s breath’ strain of sativa, reportedly Bob Marley’s favourite to smoke and the excitement (at least from my end) was palpable.</p>
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<p>The high was clean and sharp, hitting you
almost immediately but not totally claiming your senses…it was relaxing,
euphoric.</p>
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<p>“It’s a way to start a journey of
self-expression,” ‘Rozi’ Chung told me, as we returned after refreshments to
begin a second canvas – without any guidance, symbols or care in the world.
“Paint how you feel, use anything that comes naturally in your mind,” she spoke
to us collectively.</p>
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<p>The explosion of colour took shape right
away.</p>
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<p>Speaking with the <strong>BUZZ</strong> team after the event, Chung explained further that she considers Puff &amp; Paint to be an investigation into minds of any willing Jamaican – outside the scrutiny of Western concepts such as ‘who is or what makes one an artist’.</p>
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<p>“I’ve been working from 2018, looking at how marijuana could either enhance the creativity or go within instinct; to begin to be aware of one’s creative possibilities,” Chung, founder of Studio174, told <strong>BUZZ</strong>.</p>
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<p>“We already know that marijuana is used mostly in the entertainment industry, but what I’m doing is having people who had no career-minded outlook in the visual arts, try cannabis and see the results,” she added.</p>
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<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>“There’s no competition, no reference; you’re totally free."</p><cite>⁠— Rozi Chung, instructor for Puff &amp; Paint, giving the creative 'go ahead' for the second canvas</cite></blockquote>
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<p>“We normally have 10 people working
independently and every work is different. That is itself is quite amazing, because
this process gets you to express your inner self in a particular way,”</p>
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<p>For many participants, like myself, it was
a shock to see what I created under the influence of marijuana, a reaction all
too common to Rozi Chung and Epican.</p>
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<p>“People are quite intrigued in this part of self – they’ve never had this experience. Generally, marijuana is used to chill, but to be able to use it in a way that you are intentionally creating something, is such an interesting thing for many,” Rozi Chung told <strong>BUZZ</strong>.</p>
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<p>I, for one, was completely taken aback by my choice of colour for my second canvas, which started dark at the bottom but turned bright and airy nearest the top.</p>
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<p>Arguably the best part of <strong>Puff &amp; Paint</strong> (outside smoking and painting of course) was the fact that Epican was gracious enough to allow each participant to leave with their work!</p>
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<p><strong>Puff &amp; Paint</strong> takes place around the last Tuesday of each month from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm.</p>
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<p>The only requirements are that interested persons must have a doctor's recommendation (which Epican provides) and an entry fee of $4,500.</p>
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