AI saved my father's art by bringing our family together

We were in Florida visiting my parents. On a Friday at brunch, my dad mentioned, more or less in passing, that he'd like more people to see his paintings.

My father, Ming-Lon Young, is 75. After working as a doctor for more than 40 years, he started oil painting from scratch at 67. My wife Nellie said what he needed was a website. My kids, Tess (11) and Cliff (5), had a stronger opinion: it should be like their favorite video game, Animal Crossing. A place you walk around, not a page you scroll.

Tech and family bonding are often in tension. Spending time in technology often comes at the expense of quality time together with family.

I'm not a professional developer, but I built it with Claude on my personal account during that weekend: a museum you walk through, the way my kids wanted. It went live Sunday night.

Three storeys, art by category in rooms you can explore, every sign in English and in traditional Chinese, because half the people we wanted to send it to read Chinese first. Downstairs, past a door marked STAFF ONLY, is his studio. Next to it is a room called The Doctor, highlights of his first career.

My dad, my mom, my wife Nellie, my kids Tess and Cliff gave round after round of feedback as the thing evolved. I'd build, we'd all look, they'd tell me what was off, I'd build again. A suggestion made at the kitchen table would show up in the museum minutes later: for example, Tess’s suggestion of adding a gift shop where you could buy ice cream. That quick turnaround, between idea and seeing it live in the app, is so satisfying, and. It motivated everyone to keep making lots of suggestions that weekend. It’s a big reason why the building is full of everyone's fingerprints rather than just mine.

The family is in the building, too. Tess is the girl skateboarding through the gallery. Cliff is in red, skateboarding, and sometimes dancing. My parents' dog Agogo walks the halls.

He's getting really nice notes there about his art, and kind messages by email, and by text. He is 75, retired, and being appreciated as an artist by many people. He is so happy.

One of his old colleagues, LiMin Hwang, wrote this in the museum guest book:

"in the beginning I looked around high and low, up and down, back and forth for a gift shop. After a while, I started searching for a rest room. All of a sudden, it grew urgent. Where is my Mirabegron? Where is my Mirabegron?"

A retired physician, looking for the men's room in a museum that didn't have one, reaching for the joke that's an inside joke for the doctor. I've since added a bathroom.

This has been an incredible multi generational bonding experience all of us will remember for the rest of our lives.

I am not a professional developer. I built with Claude on my personal account, with my family in the room. I'd build, they'd look, they'd tell me what was off, I'd build again. A kitchen-table suggestion would show up in the museum twenty minutes later.