Endlessly exploring creativity,
& embracing tech to become a better maker
By day, I prototype the future—building applications and experimenting with generative AI in R&D for an analytics company. By evening and weekend, I'm elbow-deep in soil, sawdust, and the satisfying work of creating with my hands.
What started as a personal quest to balance our tech-saturated world with the ancestral rhythms my body craves has evolved into something bigger. There's something deeply grounding about nurturing life from seed to harvest, about transforming raw materials into functional beauty.
These aren't just hobbies. They're acts of resistance against a consumption-driven world.
Each project is a deliberate act of claiming time in a world that seems designed to give us just enough seconds to swipe and buy, but never enough to breathe and build.
A colleague once described by personal life as “analog”, an interesting contrast to a tech-heavy day job. And truthfully, I used to fiercely guard my personal world from digital intrusion, reluctant to let technology bleed into my sacred space of hands-on making.
It's been a gradual journey, learning to let technology serve my creative purpose without losing the natural immersion that feeds my soul. While an absolutist “generative AI is [good | bad]” debate conquers the internet, I think we’ll find balance with a more nuanced approach. I treat technology as a thoughtful partner and it helps me expand and support my visions, truly making me a better creator.
Hot take: you don’t need to be a “tech bro” to do this too. There are simple but proven strategies, tricks, and freely available tools to make generative AI work for your creative vision rather than be a competitor to it. I’ll share these in my blog alongside real stories as I use them to help me become an even better maker.
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Even as I write this, ever fiber of my being is screaming to flip the equation. I don’t want to be a technologist who creates things on the side, but a creator who uses technology to support my creative projects. That’s why I'm cultivating a native and edible plant nursery that will eventually supply stock for ecological landscape projects in my community. The dream is to grow the business so I can do what I love, not what I must.
“Your vision has to be bigger than the amount of money, resources, and intelligence that you have to achieve that, and what that produces is creativity.”
Simon is right, and that’s right where I am. I’m using AI as my business strategist, research partner, data engineer, and collaborative problem solver. I’ll be growing everything from seed using what I’ve learned from growing cut flowers, designing artistic interpretations of native ecosystems that work in residential settings, and proving that sustainable landscapes can be both ecologically functional and human-centered.
I believe the most freeing thing you can do in a consumption-driven world is create something real and beautiful with your own two hands. Ignore the generative AI hype train, but use it to help you dream bigger, plan smarter, and support your creative visions. Maybe it’s time to re-think what you can create?