Artwork by members of the California Chapter of the Society of Layerists in Multi-Media (SLMM)
CALIFORNIA ARTISTS UNITE TO MAKE ONE SYMBOLIC ART PIECE an Artist Group’s Cooperative Effort Demonstrates an Inter-Connective Spirit Twenty-nine visual artists from the California Chapter of the Society of Layerists in Multi-Media (SLMM) have created a very large, 36” x 240” art piece that traveled from artist to artist as it was created. The theme of the work is “California”, and each artist contributed painted, collaged or drawn image layers to the piece before sending it on to the next participating artist. Artists participated from as far north as Crescent City and as far south as the Los Angeles area and from the Sierra Nevada to the Coast. This is truly a broad cooperative art endeavor that began its creative journey in April 2005.The piece was displayed for public viewing at the California State Capitol basement gallery. The cooperative effort was spearheaded by Sacramento collage artist, Eileen Downes who wanted to create a piece of artwork that embraced the concept that artists are united creatively in spirit, and so came the birth of this idea. Eileen Downes says, “This art piece embodies a perspective of unity, cooperation, and inter-connectedness in vision and thought as each artist added a part of himself/herself to the evolving work.It is interesting to notice how each artist integrated his/her work, either conceptually or visually or both, into the artwork of the other artists.” SLMM is a national juried group of artists who support layering as an approach to creative expression; it recognizes that art is made up of many layers of significance, life experiences, personal achievements, and spiritual beliefs. Artwork created by members of SLMM is imbued with visual metaphor and celebrates a collective spirit. For more information on the project see the blog at www.cacooperativeartproject.blogspot.com.
