Honoring My Father with AI
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In the stillness of white, where the silence of snow meets the wisdom of the night, my father saw the snowy owl as a symbol, a guiding spirit animal that connected his artistic soul to the vast cosmos he adored.
These majestic birds, with their pristine feathers and piercing gaze, seemed to hold the secrets of the universe he sought to understand. As an architect of both structures and thought, he often said he felt he was ‘born just a little too soon,’ yearning for the age of wonder that artificial intelligence promised. It’s a poignant twist of fate that AI’s leap into the mainstream came as he took his final bow in May 2022.
Harnessing the power of AI, I sought to encapsulate the essence of the snowy owl, paying homage to the totem that stood sentinel over his creative endeavors. Totem poles, traditionally a symbol of family lineage and story, became my canvas. With AI, I crafted poles not of wood but of digital imaginings, stacking snowy owls in thoughtful repose, each one a layer of remembrance, a step closer to the stars he reached for.
Character design, his and now mine, merged with this new technology, allowing a seamless dance of past and future, of grief and creation.
In this process, AI became more than a tool; it was a collaborator in my journey through loss.
It brought to life sculptures that never were, paintings that could have been, and architecture that defied gravity – all adorned with the snowy owls that watched over him. This fusion of AI, art, and my burgeoning love for character design carved out a space where I could celebrate his legacy. It was here, in this digital atelier, that I found solace, crafting a tribute to a visionary who lived just a moment too soon for the world he imagined. In the quiet company of these AI-assisted owls, I found a way to process my grief and honor a man who was, and always will be, my inspiration.
