Episode 69: Art as Integration

In this episode I sit down with Sylvia, founder of the Crone House a gallery dedicated to celebrating women artists in Virginia. She shares that she had never done mushrooms until 2020: a year of IVF, a year of grief, and the diagnosis of CPTSD. For many years, she'd struggled with writer's block, trauma-locked into her body, unable to access the artist she knew lived inside her. Then she found a clinical trial. The Compass Pathway COMP 362B study on psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. One experience in a clinical setting with synthetic psilocybin cracked her open in ways therapy never could. Within months, she found herself in a clay studio for the first time, creating somatic art that finally integrated the experience into her body. She and since found other women who have used art in the same way.

Their upcoming show "Across the Universe" opened June 4th and celebrates artwork inspired by psychedelics, meditation, prayer, movement, journeying, and sacred sexuality.

This episode is a love letter to art, integration, community, and the quiet revolution happening when women are finally allowed to process their trauma through creation instead of silence. It's also a reminder that psychedelic integration isn't just about therapy, it's about expression, beauty, and paying it forward to the next woman who needs to know her creativity is waiting for her on the other side of her grief.

If you are interested in the show:

Across The Universe
June 4–July 31, 2026
with Venue Partner
Studio One Twenty | Richmond, VA

Seven women artists whose work is shaped by consciousness-expansion practices—psychedelics, movement, meditation, prayer, journeying: Blythe King, Hannah Anderson, Maggie Belinski, Mahari Chabwera, Mel Titus, Sarah Collette Tocco, Vivian Chiu

Show page: https://thecronehouse.com/2026/across-the-universe
Instagram/Threads: @cronehouserva
All artwork will be available for sale online.

Listener discretion is advised: This podcast discusses sensitive topics related to trauma, abuse, addiction and psychedelic therapy, which may be sensitive or triggering for some listeners. I encourage listeners to engage mindfully and take care of themselves throughout the conversation.

Connect with Bijou Finney

IG: ⁠@mushroommamasita⁠

Website: ⁠mushroommamasita.com