Episode 7: Art-Making as Psychedelic Integration and Trauma Resolution with Zoë Shulman
Welcome to Integrating Psychedelics, featuring insights gleaned from psychedelic experiences and conversations around how to integrate this wisdom into our daily lives. I'm your host, Jenny Weinar, and in today's episode I'm speaking with Zoë Shulman.
Zoë Shulman is a painter from Austin, Texas. In 2013, she earned a Bachelor of Fine Art in Painting and Drawing from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. During her studies, she traveled abroad to Italy and Ireland, where she developed her artistic practice amidst rich European cultures.
Since graduation, Shulman has exhibited works at international venues, as well as local galleries, museums, and universities. Notable exhibitions include “The 2017 Biennial: Origins in Geometry” at the Museum of Geometric and MADI Art in Dallas, “The 2014 Minnesota Biennial” at the Minnesota Museum of American Art in St. Paul, and “The 20th Anniversary Alumni Exhibition” at the Burren College of Art in Ireland. Her work is also a part of the MADI Museum's permanent collection.
Additionally, Shulman has completed artist residencies at The Banff Centre and The Vermont Studio Center. Here in Austin, she is represented by Camiba Gallery, where she has had three major solo exhibitions: “Circuit Topology”, “The Allegory of Good and Bad Government”, and “Neuroplastic”. In March 2022, she will begin pursuing a Master of Arts in Art Therapy and Counseling at Southwestern College and New Earth Institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
I simply adored speaking with Zoë! In this conversation we discuss:
The emotional and psychological distress that led Zoë to seek out Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy
The limits of cognitive behavioral therapy alone in treating Zoë’s depression, anxiety and PTSD
The physiological and transpersonal effects of ketamine
How the experience of ego dissolution can bring about new perspective and meaning
How Zoë started opening up to other possibilities for her life while working with ketamine
The potential for collective healing if more people had access to psychedelics
How ketamine primed Zoë to explore ways of resolving her trauma
Why art became Zoë’s preferred way of sharing her experience with others
How the process of drawing visuals from her ketamine journeys helped Zoë to remember and process more
How art therapy can benefit anyone, not just artists
The importance of reconnecting to the creative impulse in all of us …and more!
Make sure to check out Zoë's Instagram and website to see her work and find out how to get in touch.
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