At Bask, we celebrate Pride every day. Our staff, some of the best and brightest in the cannabis industry, come from all walks of life. At Bask, we do not judge based on the color of someone’s skin, sexual orientation, age, or gender identity.
To celebrate our employees, we asked Lion and Amanda, two wonderful artists, to design a Pride-themed chillum for the month of June. These designs, while different in content and art style, both represent the values we hold dear at Bask.
Lion’s design features a galaxy, with three UFOS. Their tractor beams showcase the Progress Flag, the Transgender Pride Flag, and the Non-Binary Pride Flag. The silhouette of a person is being raised in the tractor beam of the Trans Pride Flag.
Amanda’s design features a soft, rainbow background, with stalks of lavender plants and flowers reaching up toward the sky. The soft purple of the flowers and the greens of the stems and leaves stand out against the background.
We asked both Lion and Amanda their thoughts on the designs they created, and they shared their thoughts.
Lion
“I actually had a hard time coming up with an idea for the design. I didn’t want to say anything radical or anything too boring so I went with fun instead! My title for the design is “Bask’s Invasion of the Pridesnatchers” and I made the spaceships’ tractor beams the progress flag, the trans flag, and the nonbinary flag because I believe that more than ever the trans and nonbinary communities need allies’ help and support, so to tie both together, we have the “mothership” as the progress flag.”
Amanda
“When I was asked to create a pride design, I thought about what really matters to me when I think about pride. I realized that I’m inspired by the history of the LGBT movement and where we came from. Since I specialize in botanical paintings, I settled on a historically significant flower for my design. “Lavender” became a derogatory description for gay men in the 1930s, and later on was reclaimed as a symbol of empowerment in the late 60s during the Stonewall Riots. The color is still used today as a nod toward the radical spirit of LGBT people who started the fight decades ago.”
In addition to the wonderful artwork of our employees being on display, we are also donating a portion of the proceeds of these chillums to the Queer Arts Council of New Bedford.
Here’s a background on the Queer Arts Council through the AHA! Website:
“The QAC is a group of New Bedford-based creatives dedicated to supporting artists in our community. In 2019, a group of queer friends and allies came together to bring Pride to AHA! New Bedford via our downtown Block Party. Inspired by the community’s response, they decided to make things official and founded the Queer Arts Council of New Bedford (an affiliate of the South Coast LGBTQ Network) to expand creative and expressive opportunities for queer artists in New Bedford.”