So if no one has quite noticed, we've been on quite a dry spell aside from the occasional non-exclusive submission.

And the last journal posted was on December 31st for Project Educate, which went surprisingly better than expected considering the tight, tight constraints put upon us by bad luck, scheduling and normal people just living normal lives with their families.

Still, I've had to ask myself this question even if nobody else asked. "Y U NO DO STUFF?"



Well, part of it has been that everyone including myself has been insanely busy. A good number of us have been working or dealing with home/life issues.

I myself have been dealing with work and life issues. Especially with trying to get my photography work off the ground.   I've also been trying to deal and cope with a few illnesses and issues that I won't disclose.

Still, I feel as if I've messed up real bad. As nothing that had been promised had come to pass.  We've not had much as far as exclusive content and there were some things that I wanted to have happened that didn't happen.

I'm still glad that people at least visit, as it shows that there's SOME life here and we're not TOO bad off...

But there's nothing wrong with doing better, and as much as this place is touted to be "Your Circle of Growth" I realise that there is still some growing that I have to do as an artist and a leader of a group.

But enough of that...

No excuses...

Essentially, as a friend of mine taught me, I want to apologise in the least B.S. way possible.

I messed up, I'm sorry and I feel bad about it.


We will cook up some new stuff though, and get some of the old plans into gear.  Scrape off the rust and all that jazz...

Just need to get everything out of the doldrums, and take what that watchdog was saying about time to heart.

Can you forgive me?

I hope you're all well...

Sincerely,
`Oslo

It is my pleasure to have you with us and I hope you'll be able to see the vision and be a part of this GIANT idea. We hope to spearhead the growth of artistry within DeviantArt and it's deviants.

I founded this group six months ago with the intention of starting on the right foot and making sure that this group could hold its weight amongst many other groups you have seen on this site. I spent much time focusing on the basic details, making sure that if I was going to start this, it would have to be a believable work of art in itself.

I only NOW converted dACipher thanks to certain events that you could say broke the camels back.

I noticed the complaining and the many, many valid points among artists on this website and decided to be one of the people to jump forth and do something about it.

As founder, I want to be able to help you, the most important aspect of deviantArt, grow into a great, confident artist. No matter what you're doing. I am more than happy to help bring you to the experts and help you be a better part of this community.

Not only do I want you to learn from the experts, but I also want you to share what you've learned with others. If you know something that another person doesn't. Share with them, teach them and take them under your wing if they are willing to receive from you.  "Each One, Teach One".

The Definition and Philosophy:

Now you may be a bit confused as to the meaning of Cipher. Some of you may know right off of the bat, others may have an idea and others may have a completely different definition altogether.

The main definition that I had in mind came from hip-hop culture.

In hip-hop culture, a Cipher is a circle of rappers/poets who perform their lyricism in either a pre-written form or by complete freestyle.

You've got your older, more experienced people who can display their expert talents with confidence. You've got the intermediates who have some skill and are trying to get better, but more importantly, you have the beginners. The guys and girls watching further back, impressed with the people inside the circle and wanting to do what they do.

This group is like the the expert taking you in and saying "You like this? That's awesome. Want to do this yourself? I can teach you how."

When I looked up the definition of Cipher in regards to Hip-Hop culture, I also found the original concept that it used.

In the doctrine of "The Nation of Gods and Earths", they have a section called "Supreme Mathematics" which attatches a meaning to each number from 0-9 with "0" meaning Cipher.

Their definition of Cipher according to Wikipedia states that Cipher  (0, the letter O or any circular thing.) is a symbol of "completion; a circle consisting of 360 degrees; any person, place, or thing."

According to Urban Dictionary:

_{Cipher is the completion of a circle consisting of 360 degrees (120 degrees of Knowledge, 120 degrees of Wisdom, 120 degrees of Understanding), which is a whole. All in existence pertains to a cipher.}

If we complete the circle, that is DACipher and encourage Deviants to do their best, we all gain knowledge, wisdom and understanding in our artforms.


Long story short, Welcome to DACipher. I wish you the best.

Sincerely,
~Reaper-X (Founder and Student)