AI is here and as all us grapple with how it is being used – for our jobs, lives, and humanity. From a very practical perspective, I use ChatGPT to summarize a meeting transcript from seventy pages to three pages, or with a sentence I’m struggling to write or even looking for a shorter way to convey the message. Brace yourself. This is a long message and yet, the output is amusing.

The other day I was short on time in the studio and did a quick collage in my sketchbook. It sucked. Part of my sketchbook process is to use selected words from random thoughts, and use those select words as a springboard for the sketch. Because the collage/sketch sucked and I wasn’t going to spend any more time on it, I decided to see what kind of feedback or imagery ChatGPT would provide so I posed the question to ChatGPT how to improve the collage.

ChatGPT said:
This collage has a lovely start — the delicate pink blossoms create a beautiful focal point, and the use of mixed textures (glitter, foil, and floral paper) adds visual interest. Here are several ideas to improve and refine it:

1. Balance the Border
Current Issue: The top metallic strip feels heavier and disconnected from the rest.
Suggestion: Repeat the metallic texture (top) along the bottom edge or one side to create symmetry or visual balance.
Alternative: Replace the top foil with a glitter strip to match the other borders and unify the frame.

2. Blend the Background Edges
Current Issue: The torn edge of the floral paper (especially top right) looks abrupt.
Suggestion: Use soft watercolor washes or layered translucent paper to gently blend those edges into the background.

3. Add Dimension
Idea: Introduce 3D elements such as small faux blossoms, pressed flowers, or raised embellishments to echo the cherry blossoms.
Bonus: This gives the piece texture and tactile richness.

4. Refine the Glitter Application
Current Issue: The glitter frame is eye-catching but slightly rough in application.
Suggestion: Clean up the edges or use glitter tape instead for sharp lines, or use a fine-line adhesive pen for precision.

5. Consider a Background
Current Issue: The white background feels flat.
Suggestion: Mount the collage onto a soft-toned paper or canvas (light pink, cream, or gold) to give it a finished, polished appearance.

Would you like me to digitally mock up some of these improvements?

I said: Yes

ChatGPT created Collage 1:

I said: Consider using watercolor pencils

ChatGPT said:
Great idea! Watercolor pencils would add a beautiful touch of softness and detail to your collage. Here’s how you could incorporate them effectively:

How to Enhance the Collage with Watercolor Pencils
1. Edge Blending & Soft Washes
Lightly color around the edges of the floral paper where it currently appears torn or uneven.
Activate the pencil with a wet brush to create a soft gradient into the white or background paper.
Choose shades like blush pink, soft peach, or gold to harmonize with the blossoms and glitter.

2. Blossom Enhancement
Use watercolor pencils to deepen the shadows or accentuate petals and buds.
Add fine line work to the stamens or branch textures for dimension.

3. Background Tinting
Gently apply pale color washes behind the floral section to remove the stark white.
Soft greens, warm neutrals, or pastel hues can create a subtle, unified background.

4. Seamless Borders
Color-match the foil or glitter sections using metallic watercolor pencils (if available), lightly shading nearby paper for cohesion.

Would you like a new mockup showing watercolor pencil effects blended in?

I said: Yes

ChatGPT created Collage 2:

I said: Please go back to the original and consider the following words -- common, precious, unreasonable and leveraging -- what would you do to visually depict those words?

ChatGPT said:
To integrate the themes of common, precious, unreasonable, and leveraging into your original collage, here’s how you could translate each concept into visual elements:

1. COMMON
Interpretation: Everyday beauty, ordinary materials, shared experiences.
Visual Ideas:
Materials: Add mundane or “everyday” textures—kraft paper, notebook lines, brown paper bag fragments, masking tape.
Motif: Incorporate repetition (like repeating a flower motif or dot pattern) to convey ubiquity.
Placement: Scatter small, repeated blossoms around the edges to suggest abundance and accessibility.

2. PRECIOUS
Interpretation: Rare, cherished, delicate.
Visual Ideas:
Highlight: Surround one blossom (possibly centered) with gold leaf, faux jewels, or metallic ink to make it “glow.”
Contrast: Place it against dull or plain textures to elevate its importance.
Technique: Use fine detail—embroidery thread, gold ink outlines, or embossed paper—for subtle luxury.

3. UNREASONABLE
Interpretation: Irrational, bold, intrusive, defiant.
Visual Ideas:
Color & Shape: Use jarring, unexpected color splashes (fluorescent orange, black, or neon pink) that clash with the softer palette.
Form: Let one element (e.g., a paper strip or paint stroke) aggressively break the frame or extend outside the collage’s border.
Texture: Introduce chaotic scribbles, torn pieces, or wild ink lines disrupting the calm.

4. LEVERAGING
Interpretation: Making use of something to gain advantage or elevation.
Visual Ideas:
Visual Metaphor: Include a subtle image of a branch bending underweight or lifting something (tiny gold shapes or blossoms).
Layering: Show one element (e.g., a flower or leaf) physically lifting or propping up another using 3D layering (foam, cardboard spacers).
Material Symbolism: Integrate a hinge, fulcrum, or triangular shape to suggest movement or support.

Would you like a visual version incorporating these conceptual layers into your original image?

I said: Yes

ChatGPT created Collage 3

I said: Disclaimer: I did the original collage very quickly as I ran out of time. Should I tear it out of my sketchbook? What would be the wildest thing you would do AND still considering those 4 words -- common, precious, leveraging and unreasonableness.

ChatGPT said:
Absolutely do not tear it out — not yet. The fact that you made it quickly under time pressure is part of its story. That urgency may have already woven in “unreasonableness” and “leveraging” without you realizing it. Collages, like journals, hold process as much as outcome. Here's what I’d suggest instead — including a wild, meaningful transformation that still honors common, precious, leveraging, and unreasonable:

WILDEST THING TO DO — AND STILL MAKE IT WORK
Transform the collage into a layered sculptural flap piece

Instead of removing it, build onto and out from it, turning it into an interactive, dimensional work that reclaims its quickness as part of its unreasonableness and leveraged evolution:

🌸 How to Do It

1. Slice a Window Through It (Literally)
• Cut out a clean window or unexpected organic shape through the original collage (the unreasonable gesture).
• Mount it onto another page with contrasting texture (vellum, foil, cardboard, fabric).
• Let something precious peek through — gold thread, a photo, hand lettering.

2. Staple or Stitch Over It
• Use coarse black or neon thread and stitch across sections — create “x” patterns or pull one corner taut.
• Think of this as leveraging structure — using violence or tenderness as a tool.

3. Add Common Objects
• Glue or embed something completely mundane: a receipt, a tea bag, a clothing label, even a leaf from your walk.
• Then treat that common object with precious reverence (gloss medium over it, gold edge, frame it in pencil).

4. Write Directly on the Collage
• In pencil, pen, or Sharpie — add the words “common,” “precious,” “unreasonable,” and “leveraging” directly onto the piece.
• Write them in a mix of cursive, block, or backward. Let some be legible, some smudged or torn.

🌀 The Takeaway

This collage is a launch point, not a failure. Its rawness gives you the license to go bold. By manipulating the original page instead of tearing it out, you leverage the “common” beginnings into a layered statement on value and chaos — with just enough wild to keep it honest.

Would you like a mockup of what that sculptural flap version might look like?

I said: Yes

ChatGPT created:

[It took over 20 minutes so I gave up on ChatGPT version.]

The End

Please improve this collage.

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