WeirdMomma

@weird_momma_x ∙ Published March 17, 2023

[AI Art Weekly] Momma, what’s your background and how did you get into AI art?

I am a 5th generation Texan, and I have been an artist my whole life. Eventually, I finished college with degrees in photography and design. Prior to working with AI, my main focus was on historic photographic contact printing processes, such as salt prints and cyanotypes. I became interested in AI because I am a curious person and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I was immediately hooked by the speed at which you can explore concepts, as well as the semi-unpredictable nature of AI. I enjoy trying to wrangle the AI into doing what I want it to do. It took me many months to circle back to my natural style because I spent most of the early days exploring everything, and as a result, very little of my work was cohesive. However, I feel that my art is finally back to where I started, but on a different level.

[AI Art Weekly] Do you have a specific project you’re currently working on? What is it?

Yes, I started exploring the idea of representing regret and aging - those moments of reminiscing about paths you didn’t take - through a more surreal lens. I’m also very much attracted to using older faces, since most AI seems to want to create lovely young models. I’ve been using blends in Midjourney of my AI portraits and traditional work in order to achieve the feel I am looking for.

[AI Art Weekly] What drives you to create?

I’m not really sure. I’ve always lived with that drive. When I don’t have a creative outlet, my mood and general outlook on life deteriorate. Parenthood took away a lot of my personal time, so being able to create images on my phone in the small moments I have has been a godsend. My attitude towards life tends to be very “what if…” so I enjoy trying new things and experimenting. I definitely collect hobbies.

[AI Art Weekly] What does your workflow look like?

Usually, I’m just experimenting, and suddenly, something will strike me. Other times, I’m doing housework, and I get an idea. At that point, I start trying out different things, either prompts or initial images with blends to get to a good starting point. For AI images, I exclusively use Midjourney. However, as a photographer, I won’t allow raw images to be released for sale, even though I share most of the images on social media in their raw form. I use Photoshop to fix the eyes mostly, making them round, adding highlights, etc. If I can’t outright fix the hands or get a reroll to give me something I can composite, I’ll start blurring the image to change the focal point.

[AI Art Weekly] What is your favourite prompt when creating art?

Surreal photograph of [insert subject here]. Art by Dora Maar and Angus McBean and Joseph Cornell and Maurizio Anzeri.

That’s my starting point though I add or remove other things constantly.

[AI Art Weekly] How do you imagine AI (art) will be impacting society in the near future?

I’m hoping that this is just the beginning of less technically skilled folks being able to create more complex things, like video games or full-length movies. There are so many people out there with big imaginations, but they don’t have the resources to bring their ideas to life. Yes, we’ll end up with a lot of bad content, but I also think this will bring us more original content. I think we all get tired of the recycled movie plots and familiar video game structures.

[AI Art Weekly] Who is your favourite artist?

Joseph Cornell. He does assemblage boxes. No matter where I see his work, when it’s in person, I get a little jolt like that love-at-first-sight feeling.

[AI Art Weekly] Anything else you would like to share?

Just wanted to say that I’ve been really enjoying all the other artists on Twitter and in the various Discord servers. I’ve been in several creative spaces, and while every group has its issues, this one has been a great place for support and interaction. The enthusiasm of other AI artists is contagious.