I am Cecil Touchon, I am an artist, a lifelong practitioner of collage and typographic abstraction, and a steward of creative lineage. My work explores the layered languages of form and meaning, the hidden harmonies within chance, and the poetic architecture of silence and sound.

I grew up through 10 years of Catholic parochial school. At the age of forteen I had a deep mystical experience which shifted my thinking. Later, after a profound awakening at the age of 21 I soon after became a Sufi initiate and was later ordained as a Cherag—a minister of the Universal Worship in the Inayati Sufi tradition. I have spent much of my adult life in the study of the sacred texts of all spiritual traditions and this continues to inform the atmosphere I cultivate in my life and work. I think of my studio as a hermitage.

I see art-making as a form of inner attunement—a way of listening to the deeper rhythms of being and giving them form. Whether in the studio, in conversation with other creatives, or in the quiet work of archiving and preserving what has been made, I try to live in service to that subtle light that moves through all true creative acts.

The Touchonian, reflections on my ongoing body of work and philosophy, is not a doctrine but a field of inquiry and of presence: into what it means to live a creative life, to honor the mystery, and to leave behind a trace that nourishes others. I am hoping to share with you what I have learned that might be helpful for your ongoing creative journey.

This newsletter is focused on the Creative Lifestyle and how to establish it, ways to live it and strategies to become self supporting at it. The articles deal with practical and philosophical issues related to living a creative life.

I am primarily a visual artist and poet and everything for me personally is built around the practice of collage, writing and the idea of visual musicality.

I also am the founding director of The Ontological Museum and I post articles and news about exhibitions and the archives as well as posting curated artworks and artifacts in the collection in many of the posts.

There is also a section called the Creative Freedom Act that is a vision of how we - the creative community - can start to shape the surrounding culture with the suggestion of a broader creative society - and what that could look like. Imagination as activism.

In addition, I share my newly developing fictional works. In recent years I have decided to take up fictional writing as an additional form of artistic expression. This is primarily experimental writing which I hope you will also enjoy.

While not particularily interested in polotics, on election years I am prone to writing articles reflecting on the political issues of the time reflecting mostly on what it means to be an American.

Why subscribe?

Subscribe to get full access to the articles and website. Everyone can subscribe for free. There is no paywall. So I hope you find the current articles enjoyable enough to support my efforts to supply thoughtful articles about creativity, the Creative Lifestyle and building a creative society by becoming a paid subscriber.

Also visit my bookstore Ontological Museum Publications

I have been publishing books since 2007.