Farewell to SheezyArt

TL;DR - Sad news: SheezyArt is no more, forever.

  
- September 16, 2014 -

Hey everyone, I know it’s been a while since I posted an update last. I do apologize, and these delays have a lot to do with the point of the this post.

Back when I tried to get a hold of SheezyArt, the primary reason was because I was concerned that if I didn't, it was going to fade away. SheezyArt had become an institution and I wanted it to continue to be a gathering place for artists. Also, at that time we had a significantly larger team and were making great headway on our technological platform which would be great to power a SheezyArt reboot project. Therefore the acquisition of a community like SheezyArt made perfect sense, where we could apply all the talent we currently had in that direction.

The problems started when, due to understandable reasons, the existing members of the team, had to depart and go their own ways. That eventually left just me. If you have read past updates I’ve written here, you will probably have noticed that I have been the only developer on these projects for some time now. That is exactly why things have been taking so long, and why updates do not get posted nearly as often as I feel they should be.

The honest truth is that I have been doing this, alone, with zero income, for a long time and I am burnt to a crisp. I spend almost all my time working on this stuff (contrary to the abusive messages I get from community members on a regular basis). I sacrificed any kind of social life, and have failed at supporting my family, who need my support now, and have always been there for me. My niece and nephew don’t even recognize me, and often get afraid of me when I am around. I’m getting old and this is not a healthy situation, and I’m not getting a lot relatively done due to my mind being so fried. There is still a lot to do, and no one but me to do it. Suffice it to say that I cannot continue doing this.

I want to apologize to each and every one of you who I am letting down. I have really tried. I have put everything I have into making this happen, but sadly, it requires more than I alone have to give. So we are clear, please understand that Sheezy is not the only thing suffering here. Our other community (RiotCore) is shutting down as well. That community has already been told. This is about seven years of my life down the drain, and is a sad thing for me, but I am completely done. I believe that I am out of the community show for good. I just can’t push on any further.

I think SheezyArt has great potential, and I really want to see it succeed like I know it can. But that success is sadly not going to come from me. I have put forth the offer to Spencer and ChannelCat, and they have agreed to take SheezyArt back onto their plates and (hopefully) bring it back online. I wish them & the current volunteer team the best of luck.

I promised myself that this would not be a huge, rambling post, and it’s getting close to that so I’m going to stop here. Again, I am so sorry for this not working out. I really want it to be something truly grand.

The next thing you hear on this group should most likely be from the original guys.

Take care. Much love.

-Spot

- November 7, 2015 -

Hi friends,

We've received several messages and comments here about SheezyArt, and I'm really sorry that it's taken so long to get back to you.

You might remember ChannelCat and I from the old days. Back then, we founded the site during high school and kinda rode the train with all of you, as long as it had the steam.

I look back on that time with super fond memories, the origin of amazing friendships, and also some really embarrassing missteps. Truth is, back then I was just a kid with the keys to a racecar, and didn't have the management chops to think about it's long term sustainability. SheezyArt started to get sucky because of that.

ChannelCat and I absolutely loved working with the SheezyArt community, but a mixture of my poor decisions and our transition into professional adulthood starved the site of much needed TLC. That's when we thought it best to hand the keys to a more seasoned team and let them fix our mistakes.

I can personally attest to their drive in wanting to rebuild SheezyArt into something better, as I watched carefully from the sidelines. Over that time, the team had to make some tough choices and halt production. Frankly, I think I left too much of a mess for anyone to clean. That is on my shoulders, not ChannelCat or the team that took over.

That team gave me this Facebook account, and we spoke about transitioning the site files back. Somewhere along the way communication went dead, and we never received the files. Even if we had, both ChannelCat and I were unsure about how much we would be able to do with them given our professional commitments.

The unfortunate reality is this:

- SheezyArt had some big faults due to my youthful mismanagement

- The backup team gave their 100% effort but couldn't fix the damage

- We do not have the files to restore the site

- If we did have the files, our ability to tend to the site is uncertain

- In all probability, SheezyArt will not be able to return any time in the near future

I'm really sad to hit this proverbial nail in the coffin, but I didn't want to have passionate artists from the community left in the dark any longer.

I'll be checking in here to answer any lingering questions through public comments and private messages on Facebook. Your patience has been astounding and I wish I could have rewarded it with something better than this.

-Spencer