Three Years of Fine Fractal Frolicking

It gives me Great Pleasure to address, in my humble opinion, the finest collection of Fractal Artist on the internet! When I first Joined DA I had this perception that my skills with Gimp would be enough to carry me through on this great collaboration of artist from many disciplines and skill levels.  Boy was I wrong! As a matter of fact had I not discovered the Spellbinding Art of Mr. HalTenny I probably would have been laughed right of the site long ago! I am so fortunate to have discovered Mandelbulb 3D through watching  HalTenny's art. I downloaded the program and started using it right away and created my first fractal in Jan. 2011. I was instantly hooked! Addicted really! Now three later I still use the same program only with slightly better results. Then on Mar 25, 2011, I founded Xtreme Fractals! I had not clue how to run a group and struggled desperately to make it grow.

As I reflect on this groups humble beginnings I feel so blessed to have the help and guidance of so many people but especially my Wonderful Partner for almost two years, Sherry aka GypsyH!  Sherry spent many long nights displaying her patience with me over and over again! She brought a circle of friends to the group that stuck with us as we grew. Those humble beginnings taught me a lot about just how wonderfully talented the Fractal Art Community really is!

We discussed many ideas on how to make the group grow and then we hit pay dirt. We decided to recruit  the some of best artist as Contributors. This gave the group more legitimacy in my opinion, and the membership began to grow like wildfire. Be sure you check out the [ For Contributors Only ] folder for a real treat! Then things started falling apart! My personal health problems and Sherry moving across country to get married and start a new life left the group in a bad way! That is when I found Jenny, aka Lady-Compassion. Initially Jenny was just going to help Sherry and I through this rough spot. However, the demands of the group and my failing health worked against me. When Sherry announced she planned on stepping down as Co-Founder I felt the time had come to make a drastic change! I talked to Jenny about taking the group over and with a certain amount of reluctance, she agreed! Sherry and I had built the group from nothing to a thousand members and it was terribly hard to let go. I did leave the group briefly so I would not impede Jenny's plans but she talked me into returning as a Contributor where I remain today!  

Today, as I write this, the group is over 1200 members strong!  This group was my "Baby" and although it was really hard to step away, I must say it was the right thing to do! Jenny has done a fantastic job since she took over the reigns of the group and I owe her a great debt of gratitude for not only stepping up and taking control of the group but doing it with class and style!

I look forward to watching all the wonderful Fractal art you, our members generate on a daily basis and the continued growth of the group as time goes by!

Thank You, each and every one for all your support and for sharing your art with us!

Happy Fractalling!

DsyneGrafix