About

scenicthephoenix

Bio

scenicthephoenix (born Rachel Cecelia Schoening) is a poet, artist, and experience designer focused on mindfulness and creativity in the age of information.

Cecelia draws inspiration from music, travel, and her ever-evolving community, and fluidly embraces multiple formats and mediums to give life to her ideas — including experimental photography, mixed media collage, textile design, and wearable art, as well as poetry, writing, and creative direction.

In a state of mindfulness, we become one with the sun, the earth, & the sky — and find peace. Inspired by zen philosophy, cognitive science, psychology, and biophilia, Cecelia's work taps into the healing and meditative power of the ephemeral. Going beyond technical traditions of photography, Cecelia dissolves and distorts detail in her images using in-camera techniques— including blur, bokeh, reflections, and lens flares. Through her poetry, photography, and dreamlike designs, she imagines a way of seeing the world with softer eyes. Cecelia founded Scenic Route Studios in 2022 at the intersection of mindfulness and creativity, and is taking the vision higher through a new venture called OFFLINE, creating biophilic designs for body and mind.

Cecelia balances her creative endeavors with a career in tech, business, and climate leadership. As a 5th generation Montanan, nature is her first muse, and she believes spending time offline is the antidote to our increasingly digital existence. Cecelia earned a B.A. Cognitive Science at Yale, and studied Art History in Madrid through Univ. de Complutense. Her recent creative endeavors include Austin Studio Tour, ATX Art Beat, Al Fresco Fest, Curious@Google, and collaborations with Bolm Studios, the Mexicarte Museum, Contracommon, reFIND, Kanvas & Vogue, Riches Art Gallery, and 2324 Studios. Cecelia’s creative spirit has flourished in Austin, collaborating across a vibrant community of artists, musicians, & entrepreneurs.

The Heroine's Journey

After spending 10+ years learning and listening — studying the history of art, learning to challenge the canon, and keeping a finger on the pulse, visiting 100+ museum and gallery exhibitions each year — I reignited my own art practice in 2019 to join the conversation. Despite the challenges of balancing art as a dual career, I feel called to action, inspired by the powerful diplomacy of artist-activists, whose work confronts some of the most complex issues of our age — climate, technology, and identity.

Art is a distillation, and artists are the chemists.

All the stories, cultures, and stimuli we experience get simmered down, creating a chemical reaction that transforms our sense of self. Looking back, it's no coincidence that I've been fascinated with both art and cognitive science. Both of these fields are playgrounds for passionate and curious minds: essentially limitless, inherently interdisciplinary, and centered on core truths of what it means to be human.

What does it mean to see, to be conscious, to be an 'I'?

How do we know what's real, and what isn't? Do we create our reality?

What purpose does society serve, especially in the age of mass media and globalization?

Why do we have such deep divides in our society? And what can we learn by embracing our differences?

What are the ethical & evolutionary implications of new technology, like AI, space travel, and smart cities?

How do we create a more equitable world, where collective humanity can benefit from these advances?

What does is mean to have power? What are the repercussions, ramifications, & responsibilities thereof?

How do we incentivize long-term, inclusive, sustainable thinking within spheres of influence?

How can make peace, heal ourselves, and find purpose and joy in our short time on earth?

What will our legacies be? As individuals but also collectively as a human race?

How might we remember our oneness with nature and honor the living world?

Formative Lore

Back in the 90s, life happened offline.

For those who are curious... let's rewind a bit.

I was naturally drawn to making as a child, apprenticing in my dad's woodshop, baking cookies, warding off boredom in church by drawing 7-legged horses, and building imaginary spaces under the spruce trees in my backyard. The best way to survive growing up in the sparse landscape of rural Montana, it turns out, was to have a wild and wandersome imagination. Curiosity was my bridge to elsewhere— through books, movies, music, and the early internet.

My first encounter with art for art's sake was during a high school Spanish class, where we studied the 17th & 18th century Spanish Masters — Goya, Velázquez, and El Greco. Beyond the outer layer, I learned that these stately paintings had much more to them than met the eye. Rich subtext, critical commentary hidden in plain sight... the artist cleverly undermined the very royals who paid to have their portraits done. He painted Felipe's eyes solid black, voids where a soul should be. This kind of quiet protest was interesting to me. Subverting the ruling class, adding nuance to the historical record, the artist adding his own truth and layers of meaning to the story.

A Tuesday lecture changed life as I knew it.

Fast forward to my college years... procrastinating from a challenging chemistry assignment, I happily accepted when some friends invited me to an art history class that had been creating some buzz. The Yale Daily News reported that the professor teaching the course was suddenly leaving us for Stanford, so this would be the last semester to experience his legendary lectures.

2 minutes after the hour, a hush fell over the room, eager students filling the rows of red velvet chairs, sinking into the blackness as the lights dimmed. A single spotlight appeared, and you could see a small cloud of particles swirling for a brief moment before he stepped into the light.

Alex Nemerov, a living legend.

Nemerov to me, is something of an art prophet. He wields the power to speak sacred things into existence that you never saw before. And he does so in a way that makes you feel as though you knew it already, like how Michelangelo spoke not of sculpting, but of bringing forth figures dormant in stone.

My chance encounter with Nemerov sparked a decade of curiosity-verging-on-obsession with 19th and 20th century art. I spent entire afternoons in a meditative state at YUAG, and stole away to New York for an art binge whenever I had 20 bucks for the train. I read voraciously about art theory and contemporary movements, and found ways to weave art concepts into my other coursework, including a project for my Consumer Behavior class and senior thesis in Cognitive Science.

From Texas to the world—

In recent years, my intrigue has shifted to contemporary art, though I still visit old favorites from time to time. The art of the moment is a powerful tool for growing our empathy, introducing us to new worlds and lived experiences, and trying out new ways of thinking. I do my best to stay up to the minute, seeing over 100 shows every year.

More than anything, I love sharing the power of art with others. I’ve curated and led gallery tours in New York, Seattle, Austin, Chicago, Mexico City, Vancouver, and Paris, and have converted many of my closest friends and colleagues into true art obsessives. From two dear friends, I recently received recaps of their adventures seeing Miró at the Tate, and Julie Mehretu at LACMA. Another shared space with the great Marina Abramović at Sean Kelly, and was forever transformed.

My heart leaps—

My goal as an artist is to tap into universal truths of the human experience and connections between people and planet. Through my field trips, events, and community partnerships, my desire is to elevate other creatives and introduce people to art, cultures, and places beyond their day-to-day lived experiences. Scenic Route Studios is founded on a desire to grow our mindful awareness, tap into curiosity to fuel creativity, build community around shared values, and reconnect to the source — that elemental feeling of oneness. Here's to people and planet breathing together.

All my love, Cecelia xx

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