Joint rolling has enjoyed a brilliant renaissance as of late. With waves of professional rollers in both the traditional and recreational markets, and a growing desire for hash donuts from consumers at events, there’s an accessible, connoisseur-level experience for almost every shopper. These artisans are masters with rolling papers and an adhesive pen. But what about the people who prefer to create sculpture?
There’s no doubt the bar for a well-rolled joint is set high, but we want to talk about those out-of-this-world, intricate, pinata-like joints — the kind that look like miniature super yachts with little people on the bow and a tiny speedboat at the back that you inhale through.
Our previous article on “The Art Of The Roll” explored this world with superstars like Grasshoppa, Tony Greenhands and June Da Goon. However, this time we’re taking a deeper dive into the world of rolling paper mache to ask: What does it take to create these masterpieces? To help, we enlisted the help of MJ Mazzei, a Los Angeles-based artist who fashions flowers into incredible forms like speedboats, dinosaur skulls, Air Jordans and even color portraits.
Mazzei, a full-time roller and content creator, started his journey into this kind of tech in 2022. Back then, he says, there really wasn’t much in the way of education despite it already being pioneered for years by people like Weavers and Tony Greenhands. Studying their online videos and spending hours practicing, he began to outline the art form for himself.
What Does it Take?
According to Mazzei, there are three major techniques. The first is the traditional ones we see in how-to books, like the cross joint or the windmill. They take skill, but as he points out, there’s a ceiling for how elaborate you can get. Next there’s the sculpting method, where you take pre-rolled pieces and adhere them together, adding and subtracting segments until the whole thing becomes a single, smokeable piece. You can see this style in the work of LGLAWEED, Eclipse and Lydia The Doobie Duchess.
Finally there’s the mold and form method. With this you can use a mold as a framework to paper over, then cut away the paper from the frame and fill it with weed before sealing it back up. Alternatively, using a form, you can layer paper around that until you create a sort of pocket around the shape that can be filled up and sealed like an empanada.
This is how Mazzei says he works most, and he even helped design a mold kit for first-timers so they can try the process out in less than an hour. He says regardless of which of the three you choose, there’s still the time involved in grinding all the weed up. Recently, he spent six hours prepping 1 1/2 pounds for a Basquiat-inspired piece.
How long one of these smokeable sculptures takes to create really depends on the size of the project just as much as the amount of weed you’re sticking inside of it. Mazzei said hours can be spent on shading and color (we’re quick to forget that rolling papers come in a pretty small color palette). Layering them to produce different hues is something that takes a lot of time to perfect. Some of his portraits took 30 to 40 hours, but after all the practice, he says object-based pieces take around a day to complete.
When asked if there’s any one he’s particularly proud of, he brought up two different pieces. The first was a Bosky collab for the Freedom Grow Gallery at Hall of Flowers this year. The two hands lighting a joint, one skeleton and one flesh and bone, represented the struggle Cannabis prisoners face in the fight for their freedom. He meant this to evoke conversation in the way we expect of traditional gallery art. The second was a tribute to Basquiat he created for the Terp Basel event. Working in a medium that’s often overshadowed by brand marketing, that piece represented a chance to make an artistic statement and create something that wows the crowd at a sesh, as well as in a museum.
Tips & Tricks
We asked for some pointers on making molded joints, and he said there are a few important things to keep in mind, but it mostly comes down to sound engineering. “Corners are particularly hard to get burning properly,” he said. “The airflow wants to go to the inner side and will burn faster than the outside.” Mazzei points to his T. rex skull, which had so many angles that the whole thing burned from the inside out, giving the unexpected effect of flaming eyes. Another important factor he brought up is that, as the joint burns, the flower below is dehydrating and therefore shrinking. If the flower isn’t tightly pressed or the joint isn’t well-engineered, the second half can become loose, causing the cherry to fall out.
For anyone interested in learning more, Mazzei has created the World Series of Rolling to host competitions, skill shares and a community space for anyone looking to practice this art form. “No one person can overcome the shadowban,” he points out. “This creates a platform where the art can be visible.” You can also purchase one of the rocket mold kits he helped create online and then try it out with your friends.
What’s great about Mazzei is his appreciation for this as more than a technique or art that’s unique to our community. “I see this as having three forms,” he told us. “Physical, like traditional art; digital, for its ability to quickly deliver a message through social media networks; and most importantly, experiential, because we’re consuming this to create memories.”
And he’s right, you never forget the time you and your friends smoked out of a shoe.
