Can AI be used as a jumping-off point for human imagination?

The “Better as Stained Glass” series will be physical acrylic paintings that began their creative life as a prompt in AI.

This idea was inspired by a Facebook post showcasing Tiffany-style stained glass bathtubs. Athena was instantly fascinated by these bathtubs that were as beautiful as they were physically impractical. She immediately created an account on Midjourney, (an AI image generator), and began prompting the AI to make other stained glass creations like rocking horses, giraffes and even an instant pot. She loved the way the AI interpreted—or misinterpreted—her requests.

Still, as a painter, the AI didn’t offer as much control as Athena would like. The AI could rapidly provide interesting and imaginative interpretations, but she still wanted to take those ideas further as paintings.

Athena’s AI experiments can be found on the Instagram account, Better as Stained Glass. She will be turning some of these experiments into acrylic paintings for a small solo show that will happen in September 2026 at the Central Library in Calgary.