I close my eyes and find myself with my toes digging in the sand, waves gently rolling in against the shore, palm trees stretching upwards toward the hot sun. But wait, those are no normal leaves on those branches. They’re weed nugs! And that’s no sun setting in the sky … it’s a purple planet.
No, I’m not on some sort of cosmic Cannabis beach. I’m in a Cabin 7 Originals piece – portals into whimsical worlds often inspired by founder Bridget Intessimone’s own travels.
“A lot of the outdoor scenes in my art are inspired by trips I’ve been on to different countries or states,” she explains. “I like outdoor stuff and hiking a lot. I’ll find a beautiful spot when I’m out on a trail, or even see a picture of a field while I’m scrolling on Pinterest, and instantly I have an entire story and art idea that goes along with that scene in my head.”
Bridget has always considered herself a storyteller first. “I’ve been drawing and writing my entire life, since I was born basically,” she tells me. “Writing has always been a companion to drawing for me and all of it is connected. They can’t not be together in my opinion, because there’s no art without a story. Story is the central reason for everything humans do really, and that’s why art is so intertwined into our culture and existence as a human race.”
In fact, the idea for the entire Cabin 7 brand came from a story – one Bridget wrote one summer back in middle school. While her art is now full of lush landscapes, groovy patterns and vibrant colors, you may be surprised to find out the original inspiration was a bit more spooky.
“I wrote this book series called ‘The Curse of Cabin 7’ about a haunted summer camp cabin. It was just for me and my friends, really,” she explains. “All of my art for the next six or seven years stemmed from that story and it kind of became my whole identity. My mom was the one who encouraged me to embrace this whole world I had created and start branding myself as Cabin 7.”
If you look closely you’ll see many of the same characters appear over and over again in Bridget’s art, and many of them come from that same haunted cabin. “Now I have all these branches of different characters from that original story,” she tells me. “They’ve developed with me as a person over the years because all of my characters are pieces of my personality, but embodied in an individual person. They each have their own storyline but exist in the same universe.”
Cannabis is certainly a major theme in this universe. Her images are almost like a “Where’s Waldo” of weed accessories, with smoking paraphernalia and nods to the psychedelic scene sprinkled throughout. In typical Cabin 7 fashion, each component is part of a story and perfectly placed – down to the individual items on a rolling tray and consumption methods of each character.
Bridget explains how, “There’s always something happening and lots of details included, and all of them are super intentional. It’s easy to come up with those details if you really know your characters and have that story behind them. Like, ‘Oh, this character wouldn’t have their phone on them but this one would, or this character would be hitting a bong and not a blunt.’ It’s all very specific for me. There’s always a whole world and that person’s entire life story in my head.”
These stories have truly been embraced by our community. The picture that changed things and catapulted Cabin 7 to the forefront of Cannabis art and culture went viral on Instagram back in 2018, titled “The Medicated Perspective.” A city street in sad shades of blue and gray becomes alive in rainbow colors when viewed through a puff of joint smoke – a metaphor for Bridget’s own relationship with smoking.
“I’ve always used weed pretty medically for depression and anxiety, and it’s really helped me with that,” she shares. “I also use it when I work to relax and focus. It’s the only thing that makes it possible for me to concentrate on one drawing for like 12 hours. I’ve always thought art and Cannabis intersect very strongly because there’a a big overlap between people who smoke weed and people who appreciate art. That’s the special thing about weed – the culture around it. Plus, when I smoke, it just shifts everything and makes the world look brighter to me.”
