The Journey to Opening Hana Sketch

A Beginner’s Heart in a High-Tech World

I can almost not believe it—I have finally set up my store, though not officially opened yet. This is the culmination of a lifelong dream: a space where I can finally weave together my knowledge of translation, writing, the art of calligraphy, watercolour painting and the intimate touch of handwriting.

My friends have their doubts. They wonder if there is still a place for a human artist in this "AI Age," where algorithms claim to do everything. Who knows? Perhaps they are right. But I believe there is someone out there like me—someone perhaps a little "silly," but overflowing with love and a genuine desire to find the true heart within Chinese words.

While I built this webpage in a week, the concept has been growing in my mind for over twenty years. Learning to build a modern site was a journey of its own. We are no longer in the "Dreamweaver age," where we could simply move dialogue boxes and headings exactly where we liked. I watched as the Shopify AI on the right fought its own battle with the code on the left! It was a steep learning curve, and it taught me so much.

There is a strange irony in it: while Hana Sketch is an "anti-AI" movement dedicated to the human hand, I cannot deny how much AI has transformed our world and even aided this launch.

I named my Germini Momo. It is a knowledgeable yet funny bot, which keeps asking me follow-up questions despite I told it not. Thank you Momo.