Psychedelic Art: Q&A With Stella Strzyzowska
Image Courtesy: Stella Strzyzowska; “Ego Death”
Stella Strzyzowska is a Miami-based artist whose work is inspired by an unconventional method: psychedelics. She relays her psychedelic experiences into her paintings: exploring the female form, creating roadmaps for internal navigation, and expressing the products of her intense visions. I had the pleasure of meeting Stella while she was showcasing her work at Cannadellic Miami. After interacting with her, I knew I needed to hear more of what she had to say. I sat down with Stella to discuss her art and psychedelics' role in her creativity, and I was far from disappointed. Her mindset is one that I envy, and she can be an inspiration for us all.
Image Courtesy: Stella Strzyzowska; “Cloudgirl” (Left), “Grief and Praise” (Right)
Q: When/How did you become interested in art? Was there anything specific that sparked your interest?
A: Ever since I can remember, I have been obsessed with creating—a constant obsession with transforming materials into something entirely new. Early on, seeing realistic paintings really set me on a mission to achieve that level of mastery. Part of me wanted to make people surprised that something like that could come from the fingers of a human, like the way I felt when I saw masterpieces. I would draw the outline of everything I saw around me on the roof of my mouth with my tongue in elementary school. I was completely possessed with the shapes, colors, forms, lines, and textures of reality. I would say I was born with an obsession, but a heartbreak as a little kid set me off on a mad dash of creating. I didn’t know then, but making art is a form of therapy.
Q: When did you realize art was your passion?
A: By the time I was in the fourth grade, I realized that I was destined to be a painter, and I begged my mom for an official artist-grade set of acrylics and tools. By middle school, I applied twice (the first time, I was not accepted) into a magnet art program where I learned to mix paint and experimented with various mediums. Perseverance is essential even when it comes to something that feels “meant to be.”
Q: Were psychedelics the inspiration for your art, or were psychedelics incorporated later on?
A: I had developed the technical chops of creating art, which peaked in my senior year of high school. My art was very dark in high school and at the beginning of college. I was fearless in expressing my vulnerabilities because I had nothing to lose. I was a suicidal, depressed alcoholic and drug addict, and art was a great medium to let out my demons. I still had lots of joy creating art then, and like I said, my technical skill was very tight. Considering I had nothing to lose with my mental and physical health declining, I tried MDMA. I had incredible experiences which opened my heart and mind in ways that therapy could never come close to. I then tried LSD. I found myself breathing away tension until I heard silence and met god. I realized god is all there is, and we are all physical manifestations of the one getting to know ourselves from every angle possible. Once that happened, I realized I’m an infinite soul who incarnated into this timeline. The immense pain was a doorway to my purpose. Through art and sharing my journey, I felt I could potentially uplift consciousness and evolve culture.
Q: Can you walk me through your most enlightening trip?
A: While I have had various experiences that changed my life forever, I would still say the most profound was the time I entered silence. It was one of the early trips. I took a substantial dose of LSD with good friends in a great setting. We were outside and made our way to a racquetball court in my apartment complex (which had nice nature). I was with one of my friends who would later become my meditation teacher. We sat in the racquetball court, not speaking for what turned into hours. I intuitively began to breathe and let go of the tension in my body. As a layer of tension would leave, and I felt there was none left, I would find more deep under the surface and release the next round. I did this for a very long time until there was no tension left. Once that happened, I heard the background sound of reality: silence. At that moment, I exclaimed, “meditation! I never understood what that was!” It was then that I could finally understand meditation. As that happened, I saw dancing buddhas and angels in the sky. Then a light came down and asked me if I was ready to be part of the light. I accepted the invitation and was mind blown. Six months later, I met my mentor and future husband. My life shifted from hanging out with destructive folks to joining a team of lightworkers to uplift consciousness globally.
Q: How do psychedelics inspire your art?
A: Psychedelics are a doorway to the infinite self, god/source. Experiences of ego death where I forget my name and remember that we are all one basking in the unity of all life and holding compassion for everyone/thing in existence gives me a great mission to be of service by healing suffering. Psychedelics have given me visions that are incredible soul food for hungry souls. The physical, spiritual, emotional, and energetic healing I have received in my psychedelic sessions is beyond anything I could have ever imagined possible. These kinds of quantum leaps within a lifetime give me so much work to share, and my art is not just paintings - it is storytelling. Psychedelics have inspired my art to be a shamanic journey for all viewers. Some paintings are trip reports, some are a fulfillment of my creative cravings, and others are reflections of the progress of my soul. My art shares a story of an alternative route.
Q: How do you relay your experience into your art afterward? Can you walk me through the process of creating one of your pieces?
A: Not every painting/story starts the same. Sometimes I have full-on visions; sometimes, it starts with an idea, other times I express the profound healing I have experienced. I start with rough sketches and write my experience. Then I take reference photos and arrange my official composition. Once I have it started, it usually takes a life of its own; all I have to do is show up. What I mean by that is that each time I show up to work on it, it evolves, and more details arrive. Once I have my composition drawn, I transfer it to my surface. I have also used a projector to speed up the process as I mastered figure drawing. Now I am more concerned with storytelling. I paint using the Mische Technique, which translates to mixed technique and is a way of painting in thin layers using glazes. So I progress to my imprimatura and then begin my underpainting. Once my first underpainting is complete, I move on to the first glaze. After the first glaze, I move on to building with more whites and then another round of glazes. From there on, I layer in more until the painting seems complete.
Q: Tell me about the meaning behind your work. What is the motivation for your art, and what messages do you want to get across?
A: Basically, I am here to bring forth paintings that could uplift consciousness and evolve culture. I am of service to alleviate the suffering of all life in the most potent way that could possibly happen in this lifetime. I’m attempting to maximize my life to impact the world positively. I want my art, experience, and stories to be a shamanic guide for all. In turn, I am also using art as a way to make profound shifts in my psyche so that I can be the embodiment of compassion, peace, and abundance, aiming to heal my blind toxic spots. As I heal through psychedelic journeys, meditation, movement, food, and expression through my creations, I have more to share and come from a whole place. This has not been easy, as I am facing my darkness head-on for what it truly is.
Q: What do you have planned for the future of your art?
A: I want to create iconic works. I want to create art that supports the psychedelic renaissance, which we are currently moving through. I wish to help the healing movement of psychedelics reconstruct the failing systems we have, like the medical industry, pharmaceutical industry, psychiatric industry, school systems, and government. I hope to be a humble player in helping evolve the world for the better. I would love to leave behind art temples that could be vortexes for the healing of the soul.
Q: Do you want to disclose any other information or messages?
A: I would highly encourage anyone intending to use psychedelics to be very informed about their own family history of mental health. Also, it is important to know about the substances, their chemistry, and their relation to our own neurochemistry. Set and setting are key.
I have a daily practice of meditation, ritual, and yoga to align myself with the source and open my vessel up to be a conduit for visions that uplift consciousness. This daily practice is key to bringing forth the most potent medicine through art that I could possibly do in this lifetime. This is a lifestyle of devotion to service through art. This sustains a vibration in my life and helps me manifest my desires which have evolved into a mission of cultivating inner peace. This devotion through the years has brought me to many visions and healing through my psychedelic trips, which would not be nearly as potent without the dedicated practice. Doing psychedelics in the wrong set and setting without any intentions could sometimes turn out right. However, it is mostly irresponsible and could prevent future healing and even aggravate trauma or create more of it. I started these practices intuitively after trying psychedelics. Through trial and error, I have learned to craft my psychedelic sessions responsibly to maximize the medicine they have on my being.
To learn more about Stella and her work, you can check out her website https://shopstellastrzyzowska.com/, or her Instagram @stellastrzyzowska. She can be reached via email stellasg.art@gmail.com.
Strike Out,
Morgan Harms
Boca Raton
Morgan Harms is a Content Writer for Strike Magazine Boca. She is a Pisces mermaid infatuated with the ocean and the color blue. She spends her free time daydreaming, wave hunting, and blasting music from whatever genre she’s into that day. You can reach her on Instagram @morganjharms, or by email morganjharms@gmail.com.
