Ex-PR Woman Trades Documents for AI Images – A New Life Begins on Mallorca

From the Meeting Room to a Small Studio by the Coast

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It's seven-thirty on a September morning, the sun hasn't blazed yet, and Astrid Thieme pours an espresso in her kitchen on Plaça. In the past she wore tailored suits to board meetings; today she types sentences into a program, listens to the hum of the laptop, and smiles. \"I paint with words,\" she says, as if she had just learned it.

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How a Vacation Changed Everything

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The start wasn't a dramatic blow, but a long summer holiday in 2023. They actually planned to move to Dublin, but the island captivated her. \"Mallorca has something that lets me breathe,\" Astrid tells in a cafe in La Lonja, where the waitress greets her by name. Back in Germany she quit her PR job – and first fell into a hole. Only a friend asked quite simply: What brings you joy now?

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Words as Brushes

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The answer was: formulations. Astrid began experimenting with Midjourney. Instead of brushstrokes she uses prompts: precise instructions, small poems addressed to a machine. \"The right words have to land, otherwise it's just noise,\" she says and types an example into her smartphone. Her husband Rudi, 62, tried it once and laughed – the result was, well, experimental. \"With me, it's different,\" Astrid says dryly.

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In the series Metamorphosis she stages women: shells, sea patterns and skin become a recognizable process. \"It's about change, not showiness,\" she explains. Some critics claim AI art can't convey feelings. Astrid disagrees: \"Those who say that haven't looked at my series long enough.\"

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Between Commissions and Big Ideas

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Money doesn't come right away. Astrid designs tickets for a small cinema in the west of the island, creates logos for a cafe in Sencelles, and advises companies on design. The company is Thieme Consulting SL – official, unpretentious. \"That keeps me free, but affordable,\" she says.

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Her studio is more of a workspace: a desk, a houseplant, a scribbled to-do list on the wall, and a clever cat named Mona who often lies between keyboard and coffee. At nine in the morning she sits down at the computer; in the afternoon she goes to the sea to breathe anew. Balance seems important to her; the audience in galleries worldwide probably agrees as well.

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What Remains?

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The exciting thing isn't the technology, but the attitude: the courage to leave the safe path, and the curiosity to seriously learn something unknown. \"I didn't become an artist overnight,\" says Astrid, \"but I decided that I may give it a try.\" On the island, people now greet her with curiosity — and occasional shaking of heads. But that comes with it.

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If you are curious: Astrid regularly shows her work in a small pop-up in Palma and welcomes messages. And yes, Rudi was allowed to use the computer again recently – this time the result stayed in the drawer.