My 12 year old daughter and I had our photos/videos removed from a photographic art Facebook group after being told our images were “AI generated” and “not real works of art.” Those comments have been weighing on me.

As many of you know, I’ve been creating storytelling through poetry, dioramas, and photography for 18 years. My passion started with Christmas elves and most recently into Willie and Tillie Geezer after the sale of my patents. It’s something I’ve poured my heart into long before AI even existed.

Every scene we create starts with an idea, then a poem, then the search for the right miniatures or the work of making them ourselves. Backgrounds are made, details get placed by hand, costumes selected, and pieces get secured one by one. The dolls don’t cooperate. They fall, the props fall, and we start all over again. What looks like a simple photo is really days of planning, setup, refining, and editing.

Maybe some assume our work “isn’t real” because we don’t often show behind the scenes. The truth is, the process isn’t pretty. Our doll room’s chaotic and far from organized. But more than that, we’ve always tried to protect the feeling behind what we create. Part of the joy is letting our miniature scenes feel alive. Showing everything can take away that sense of magic, like seeing a favorite movie stripped down to a green screen.

Still, hearing that something we spent several days building by hand “isn’t real” hurts more than I expected. It makes us wonder how our work is being seen by others who quietly follow along.

We’ll keep creating, because it’s what we love. And to those who’ve supported us and understood the heart behind it, thank you. It means more than we can put into words.

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