The Hour Glass of Time | A Fractal and Generative Art Project | Future NFTShowroom Candidiate

The Hour Glass of Time

The End. How does one tell when it's near; or does it sneak up and tap you on the shoulder? Can you look back? I wouldn't think. For to do so would be to relive your past. Stepping backward in time can be a painful experience. The gripping truth is that you feel the end in every fiber of your being.

However, to get anywhere close to the end, you must have a beginning.

This is my beginning. Yes, I once was young. In the bottomless pit of destitute, I was spit out like a diseased varmint.

I looked around. Nothing familiar. No one to connect to. Not anything could I see nor hear within distance. Suddenly, I heard voices. Faint at first, then louder they beat. I didn't recognize the sounds. I crawled upward toward the vibrations until I reached the top of the heap.

Brightly colored minnows chatting away weaved through the waves. As if confronted by a horror, they paused.

A feeling of hatred pierced the waters sending darts in my direction. Numbness overtook my senses. I was new. I didn't know what to expect. The crowd stood soundless and motionless near the seabed.

I looked around helplessly. My dark, wrinkled bronze skin cast a shadow on the rocks below.

It scared even me.

Then, with one group stare, I heard an equally simultaneous, loud gasp. The next moment, they disappeared without a word. Darting off in the opposite expanse of the water, they left a trail of despair as whispers and laughter lingered.

What happened? I didn't know them; nor they, me. Maybe they did, and I just didn't remember why. I was knew to this game. I'll just chase after them, I thought. Maybe all will be revealed once I catch up.

But I never caught up. Everywhere I went, they turned and backed away in haste.

I stopped. Chasing those who wished not to be in your midst I learned was a waste of energy. I felt that I needed to conserve myself.

The time had come to make my own way in the murky waters that was my life. I had no one who looked. thought or acted like me to teach me how to navigate the depths. Being part of that world, I had to make the best of whatever that hour of time was allowed.

A feeling I hadn't experienced before rose up into my chest. The rumbling made its way to my mouth. I felt sick. Then I realized hunger had approached. What do I eat? Where do I find it? The time to fend for myself was at hand.

Time. I spent my days searching for my own kind. Where did I come from? Why no one wanted to be in my presence? What was I?

That single most question haunted me hours each day as I spent my entire existence wandering through the slimy jungle of the abyssal plain.

Tiredness set in.

The shoreline beckoned. I traveled for what seems like ages. I should have remembered passing this way before. Looking through the hour glass of time, I couldn't detect any impact I made in the lives of others. Perhaps I could have if inclusiveness were allowed.

With the dim light from the moon glistening on the breakwaters, I pressed forward. The hour had arrived.

The End. The hour of my time drew near. Departing, separating from this anguish felt final. Maybe infinite is a more accurate description. Perhaps my passing will provide nourishment and hope for others. I finally felt wanted. A part of something larger than my frame seeped in and placed a twinkle in my eyes. If others could benefit from my leaving, then so be it. I would have given what no one gave to me.

A chance.

The Hour Glass of TIme. While creating my fractals, I knew I wanted to utilize them as supporting casts in one of my fractal project. Once I created the image of an aging sea creature, the opportunity to use the fractals seemed perfect.

Fractals
Another opportunity to showcase my fractal designs. Although with this project, they weren't the star of the show, I love how I utilized one of them as the sea creature's hair. The other two fractals served as tears spouting from above the creature's face from a hole in its head such as a whale.

Generative Art
Nvidia Gaugan. I created an especially alluring nighttime sky overlooking a rocky shoreline. With the Gaugan generative art program, you can see how your brushstrokes resemble the outline of the image you envision. Gray signifies clouds in any shape you desire. Blue is set for the sea. Red is the color designated for rocks. You can see how your rock formation will potentially look by the shape of your brushstrokes. It's all about the imagination.

Wombo Dream. Instead of brushstrokes to generate images, this new program I discovered utilizes text prompts. I like working with Wombo Dream as I can retrieve a distorted version of the image I visualize, such as landscapes, buildings, people, animals.

In my current project, the Wombo Art, utilized the following text inputs to retrieve my vision of an under and above water creature.

Below are my steps:

Text inputs:

Whale with bulging eyes	Ocean white waves with blue water dark sky	Hour glass

Results:

Image manipulation and enhancement:

Utilizing Canva, I was able to blend the fractals and generative art images to create this project. Desiring to go a step further, I processed the Wombo Art background for the underwater scene as a distortion feature. This enhanced the waves and water effect.

Here is the final version:

Thanks for taking the time to view my post. I hope you like my fractal and generative art project as much as I enjoyed designing and sharing it. This project will be my next NFT Showroom candidate. I have a few others in line ahead.