From the Conference Room to the AI Canvas: How an Ex-PR Woman Starts Anew in Mallorca

From the Meeting Room to a Small Studio on the Coast

It's half past seven on a September morning at the Plaça, the air still fresh, somewhere a Deliveroo wheel clatters. Astrid Thieme pours an espresso, sits at the small table in her kitchen and opens her laptop. She used to rush in tailored suits from one executive meeting to the next. Today she types sentences into a program, listens to the quiet hum of the computer and says with a mischievous smile: "I paint with words." Her story is covered in Exmujer de PR intercambia expedientes por imágenes de IA: comienza una nueva vida en Mallorca.

How a Holiday Turned Her Life Upside Down

The change didn't begin dramatically, but quietly: a long summer of 2023 on the island that was supposed to be only a stopover. Dublin had been planned, but Mallorca had other plans. "The island lets me breathe," Astrid says in a café at La Lonja, where the staff now greet her by name. Back in Germany she quit the PR job — and first fell into a hole. A friend finally asked a practical question: "What brings you joy?" The answer was: phrasing, image ideas, juggling words.

Words as Brushes: The New Craft

Instead of brushes, Astrid now uses prompts — precise instructions to an AI. She experimented with Midjourney, quickly learning that language is the most important tool. "The right words have to fit, otherwise it’s just noise," she says, showing a motif on her smartphone: female bodies, shells, sea patterns fused in a series she calls Metamorphosis. Not sensationalism, she emphasizes, but a work about change.

But the debate about AI art gnaws in the background: Can machines produce feeling? Are these images really art? A central question remains: is AI art just about technology or about attitude and narrative? Astrid says: "Anyone who believes that AI doesn't convey feelings hasn't looked at my series long enough."

A New Business Model — Down to Earth

Money doesn't flow like monthly salaries used to. Instead small things arise: tickets for a tiny cinema in the west of the island, a logo for a café in Sencelles, consulting for local entrepreneurs. "Thieme Consulting SL" sounds official but is a pragmatic construct that gives her freedom and income. She works at the computer in the mornings, goes to the sea in the afternoons — the sound of the waves is often the best correction to screen light. In the studio: a desk, a houseplant, a to-do list on the wall and Mona the cat, who likes to lie between keyboard and espresso.

What Is Often Missing from the Public Debate

Despite all the romanticizing, practical aspects are missing: access to technology, learning curves, legal questions and environmental costs. Not everyone takes off their suit to immediately sell AI art successfully. Other life changes are described in When the Money Disappeared: How Andrea Rebuilt Her Life in Mallorca with Spanish. Training, community, mentors — these are resources that are often underestimated. One more point: copyright. Who ultimately holds the rights to a work that arose from a prompt and a multitude of training data? The island community hardly discusses such questions loudly; there is more nodding than debate. Similar concerns about control are discussed in When AI Plans the Island Vacation: Mallorca Shows a Solution — But Who Controls the Recommendations?.

Opportunities for Mallorca — and How to Use Them

The development carries opportunities: creative recombinations, affordable design for small businesses, new exhibition concepts. To make sure it doesn't sound like an unbalanced tech bubble, concrete steps are needed: Similar projects were presented in Mallorca in London: Between Fireworks and Algorithms — What Remains of the 'Mallorca se reinventa' Idea?.

1. Transparency in the creative process: Exhibitions should offer accompanying texts that explain how an image was created — prompt, post-editing, intention. Visitors prefer to hear the sea breeze when they also know how the work breathed.

2. Local training offers: Workshops in Palma, cooperation with art schools and cultural centers, targeted courses on prompt formulation and image post-processing — not as a trend, but as craftsmanship.

3. Networks and studio communities: Coworking for digital artists, shared exhibition spaces and legal advice — so creative founders are not left alone.

4. Fair business models: Micro-commissions for local businesses, transparent pricing and commission models that also involve traditional craftsmen.

Between Curiosity and Head Shaking

On the island people meet Astrid with curiosity — and occasional head shaking. Some neighbors don't understand the technology, others don't like the images. But that's exactly what makes the public space exciting. Change is never quiet and never only technical; it affects relationships, income and culture. Astrid did not become an artist overnight. She allowed herself to seriously learn something new.

If you want to see her work: Astrid regularly shows her pieces in a small pop-up in Palma and welcomes messages. And Rudi? He was recently allowed back at the computer — this time the result stayed in the drawer.