What happens when an art collection becomes a soundtrack?
At Josie Mae Creative Lab in Matteson, Illinois, the answer is an immersive creative experience built from 298 pieces of original AI art and music created to match.
Kimberly James, owner of Josie Mae Creative Lab, created the video and soundtrack to play inside the studio while guests work on their own personalized art, apparel, songs, journals, and keepsakes. Now, the project is becoming something even more meaningful: Where Creativity Lives by Josie Mae, an album releasing on September 7, 2026, and streaming on all major platforms.
As a featured sneak peek for the album release, you can also watch the mini music video for "Let Your Light Shine" on YouTube.
You can also pre-order Where Creativity Lives by Josie Mae ahead of the September 7 release so it's ready to stream to you on release day.
That date carries a special connection.
Josie Mae Creative Lab is named after Kimberly's grandmothers, Josephine and Jessie Mae. September 7 would have been Josephine's 113th birthday. Josephine transitioned at age 102, and this release offers a beautiful way to honor her memory while continuing the creative legacy connected to both grandmothers' names.
This is more than background music.
It is a welcome.
It is an invitation.
It is a reminder to trust the process and begin.
A soundtrack for creating something of your own
The album was designed to support the feeling guests experience when they enter the lab.
You may arrive with an idea. You may arrive unsure. You may even arrive thinking, "I'm not creative enough for this."
The music meets you there.
Across the video, the songs carry themes of courage, imagination, patience, creative flow, and personal progress. The message is simple and steady:
- Open your heart to beautiful possibilities.
- Dream with courage.
- Create what you see.
- Believe in your gift.
- Let your spirit rise.
- Trust the process.
- Breathe and begin.
- You did it.
One featured lyric captures the spirit of the entire studio:
"Open your heart to beautiful possibilities
Dream with courage
Create what you see
Believe in your gift
Let your spirit rise."
That message is especially important in a beginner-friendly creative space. You do not need to arrive with a finished idea. You do not need to know the perfect prompt. You do not need to be an experienced artist, songwriter, producer, or technologist.
You can begin with curiosity.
We'll help you move from idea to creation, one guided step at a time.
Why AI and music belong in the same creative conversation
AI can help you explore melodies, lyrics, arrangements, moods, and sounds that may be difficult to imagine on your own.
But AI does not replace your story.
Your memories, questions, hopes, humor, family traditions, and personal point of view are what give a song meaning. AI can help shape the raw material, but you are still the person making creative decisions.
You choose the direction.
You decide what feels honest.
You listen, revise, experiment, and decide when the song feels like yours.
That is the same approach we use throughout Josie Mae Creative Lab. AI is a creative partner, not a test you have to pass.
Watching is different from doing
You can watch someone generate a song online and think, "That looks interesting."
Or you can sit down, share a memory, write a few lines, try a prompt, listen to a first version, and shape the result into something personal.
Doing creates confidence.
That is why the new album will play in the studio while guests are actively making things. The music becomes part of the environment: a gentle creative companion while you work with your hands and bring an idea into the world.
From a spark to a finished song
For beginners, making music with AI can be broken into a few approachable stages.
1. Start with a feeling
Before you choose a genre or open a music platform, think about what you want the song to express.
Do you want it to feel hopeful? Reflective? Joyful? Peaceful? Celebratory?
You might begin with:
- A family memory
- A personal affirmation
- A birthday message
- A love story
- A tribute to someone special
- A dream you are working toward
- A moment of change or new beginning
You do not need formal music vocabulary. "I want this to feel like a deep breath before starting over" is already a creative direction.
2. Shape the words
You can write your own lyrics, ask AI to help organize your ideas, or combine both approaches.
A simple song structure might include:
- Verse: Introduce the story or feeling
- Chorus: Repeat the central message
- Bridge: Offer a new perspective
- Final chorus: Bring the message home
You do not need to write a perfect poem. Start with honest language. A few sincere sentences can become the foundation for a meaningful song.
3. Explore the sound
Next, you can describe the musical direction you imagine.
For example:
- Gentle piano with warm strings
- Uplifting pop with a steady rhythm
- Soulful vocals with a hopeful chorus
- Calm acoustic music for reflection
- Bright, celebratory music for a milestone
AI can help generate options, but your job is to listen and respond. What do you like? What feels too fast? Should the song be softer, fuller, more joyful, or more personal?
That process is music production at a beginner-friendly level: listening, choosing, refining, and shaping.
4. Prepare your release
A song does not have to stay on your laptop.
With the right permissions, final audio file, artwork, title, credits, and metadata, you can prepare a song for release on streaming platforms. Platform rules and AI tool licenses can change, so it is important to review the current terms before releasing music commercially.
The larger lesson is encouraging: you can move from an idea to a finished song and then learn how to share it with the world.
That is a powerful creative journey.
A future workshop for writing, producing, and distributing music with AI
Kimberly is also exploring a future workshop that would teach participants how to use AI across the music-making process.
The workshop could include:
WRITE
Turn memories, stories, and ideas into lyrics with structure and intention.
PRODUCE
Explore musical styles, instrumentation, vocal direction, arrangement, and revisions with AI tools.
DISTRIBUTE
Learn the basic steps for preparing audio, artwork, credits, release details, and distribution.
This would build naturally on Beautiful Melodies, Josie Mae Creative Lab's existing $97 experience where guests share memories, stories, or feelings and use AI to co-write and produce a personalized song.
Participants receive:
- A guided AI songwriting session
- A custom digital audio file
- Printed lyrics
- A signature mocktail
- A mini Creator Board
A future music workshop could take that creative experience one step further for people who want to understand the full path from concept to release.
No prior songwriting experience would be required.
No music production degree would be required.
You would not have to figure it out alone.
AI education can be creative, practical, and personal
This album also reflects a larger purpose at Josie Mae Creative Lab: helping you learn AI by using it for something that matters to you.
The JMAIA Hybrid Cohort follows the same principle:
Learn it online. Practice it in person. Apply it in real life.
The 12-week beginner-friendly program combines online academy access with weekly Guided Implementation Sessions in the studio. Participants learn across 11 AI platforms, practice through hands-on activities, ask questions, troubleshoot, and apply what they are learning to real goals.
Music is one of those practical applications.
So is visual art. So is storytelling. So is creating a meaningful gift, designing apparel, or building a keepsake for your family.
You do not need to learn AI in an abstract way. You can learn it while making something tangible.
That is what makes an AI art class or creative workshop for adults feel different at Josie Mae. You are not just collecting information. You are practicing. You are experimenting. You are creating.
And by the end, you have something to show for it.
This is not a traditional paint-and-sip
A paint-and-sip alternative can still be social, welcoming, and relaxing: but your experience at Josie Mae includes a different kind of creative process.
Here, you can:
- Use AI to develop original ideas
- Create personalized visual art
- Write and produce a custom song
- Design apparel and press it yourself
- Create framed artwork
- Learn practical AI skills
- Take home a tangible keepsake
- Ask questions in a small-group setting
Classes are limited to 12 guests. Laptops, materials, guided instruction, and creative support are provided.
You do not need to be "techy."
You do not need to call yourself an artist.
You do not need to know what you are doing before you arrive.
Bring your curiosity. We'll help you begin.
A tribute that keeps creating
The September 7 release of Where Creativity Lives by Josie Mae is a tribute to Josephine, a celebration of Jessie Mae, and an expression of Kimberly's vision for Josie Mae Creative Lab.
It brings together family, memory, AI, music, visual art, and hands-on creation.
It also reflects what Kimberly hopes every guest feels in the studio:
You are allowed to start small.
Your ideas deserve room to grow.
Your creative voice matters.
You can trust the process.
On September 7, 2026, the album will begin its life on streaming platforms. Inside the lab, it will continue doing what it was created to do: surrounding guests with encouragement while they create something of their own.
Ready to create, imagine, and believe?
Watch the mini music video for "Let Your Light Shine" on YouTube, listen to the album's visual experience on YouTube, and pre-order Where Creativity Lives by Josie Mae ahead of the September 7, 2026 release so it's ready to stream to you on release day. Then explore what you can make at Josie Mae Creative Lab.
You can begin with a personalized song through Beautiful Melodies, explore an AI art class, join a hands-on creative workshop for adults, or learn practical AI skills through the JMAIA Hybrid Cohort.
You do not need to know everything before you take the first step.
You only need a spark, a little curiosity, and a place where beautiful possibilities can begin.
Ready to Create Something Meaningful?
Explore our beginner-friendly creative experiences at Josie Mae Creative Lab in Matteson, Illinois.