Jerica Collective, LLC
Art and Science by Humans, for Humans
Human-first learning and creativity
"Perhaps it's time we learn to find the beauty in the caterpillar without wanting or needing it to change for our viewing pleasure." Jerica Collective is a messy and multidisciplinary sanctuary for the creators, teachers, and learners drowning in the flood of AI. Founded by an eclectic mix of scientists, artists, and performers, our driving vision is that human creativity is not a worthy price to pay for slightly faster generative AI. Our ragtag group of misfits offer all manner of goods and services, ranging from arts and crafts to gardening workshops to fantastical constructions, all seasoned with the weird and wonderful. Click on the links below to learn more about each member and view their portfolios and services.
Our not-so-tragic origin story
Hello, and welcome! If someone had told me 17 years ago a PhD in Computational Engineering would be a dead end career path, I would have laughed. But then, remember when the tech companies swore up and down AI wouldn't replace human workers? Now they're the ones laughing after telling 1,000s of software engineers (including yours truly) to hit the bricks. The worst part of the AI boom is the idea that better AI will solve all the world's problems. Just so long as we're willing to sacrifice the entire corpus of human creativity to train it. After all, what is someone's original creation worth when compared to saving the human race? So, a bunch of us weirdoes got together to create a home for ourselves with Jerica Collective. So please, wander around our Island of Misfit Portfolios , and if anything strikes your fancy, we'd love to hear from you.
Cheers,
Jeff, née Phillip J. Durst, PhD
The collective at a glance:
Jeff, Punk Rock Pagan and purveyor of the Eldritch and Insane
So, here's how I look at it - at some point, the ancestors weren't "the Ancestors," they were just your weird uncle Steve that sometimes got drunk and yelled at the sky until it rained. Like, at some point, there has to be ancestral bedrock. So I recon, if Uncle Steve could make stuff up and see what happens, so can we. More than anything, I think we should all find the world to be delightful, and living in it should bring us joy. Hop on this witchy train, do whatever sounds fun and looks cool, and let's spread joy and whimsy together.
Scary Art!
Happy Art!
Weird Art!
Erica, the closest thing to a Druid this side of D&D
Grow food, not plants! What started as 2 modest square-foot raised beds three years ago has blossomed (pun intended) into a full-blown garden and plant nursery. Need help creating a garden? I got you. Need help actually building it? I got you. Want some locally grown plants to put in it? Yup, still got you. Also, turns out loofas make for badass bases for felted delights.
Sushi...
...made from plants!
...for cats...
We're not entirely sure if Makayla is a human person, or a magical Fae in disguise.
Makayla
Ian, guy who builds cool stuff
Something something BA in French, there's your dead-end career path.