Hello there! My name is Zoë Michel, but I like to go by Zoë Juno in the art world. With an artist for a mom, I started making art at a very young age—by two years old, I was already drawing cats. My love for animals and nature only grew as I got older, and I felt the happiest and most grounded when I was outside.

At age nine, I was accepted into an art school, which shifted my focus toward structured assignments. Over time, I found myself creating less for fun and more for school, and as academics were always a challenge for me, I began tying my self-worth to my art. I became a perfectionist, losing sight of the joy I once found in creating. This pattern continued through high school and into college.

It wasn’t until my final years of earning my Bachelor of Fine Arts at Florida Atlantic University that I started to find my way back. I reconnected with nature, leaned into the grounding feeling it always gave me, and began healing my relationship with art. My work once again centered on animals and the natural world, helping me tap into a sense of freedom instead of pressure.

Since graduating in 2019, I’ve continued to explore art on my own terms. Without the weight of academic expectations, I’ve been able to create when I want to—not just when I feel I have to. Slowly but surely, I’ve been unlearning perfectionism and reminding myself that art is meant to be an expression, not a measurement of worth.