Marcel Du Champ said, “Art should tease the mind instead of pleasing the eye,” and he often made art that challenged expectations of what art ‘should’ be or ‘should’ look like. Consequently, his art helped to open people’s minds to appreciate different types of artistic expression. I love to make art based on this principle, and I hope that my art will challenge expectations in a way that helps people become more flexible with their own personal “shoulds” that might get in the way of them living the life they want to live.
Lulu McPharlin
Mixed Media Art Collage
When I create mixed media work, I primarily combine elements of photography, acrylic painting, and collage to introduce concepts, evoke emotions, and play with expectations.
Photography-Nature and Travel
Below is a small sample of my travel and nature photography. I enjoy playing with big and small picture concepts as well as interesting compositions and naturally occurring framing. I always want to capture what that particular moment or place felt like through the visual image I create.
Double Exposure Photography
One of my favorite magic tricks is double exposure photography! I love to use it to capture the essence of someone, to share a certain concept, to show relationships, to cause curiosity, and to inspire play.
Retreat Photography
Typically I photograph retreats and events in a documentary style, attempting to capture natural and candid powerful moments, themes, and the essence of the event. Feel free to reach out to me to learn more about how can I help capture your retreat or event.
Installations and Events
Midvale Art House Opening and Mural Fest
We had our official soft opening at the MIdvale Art House during the Midvale Mural Festival on June 8, 2024. For this event, we set up a special mini-mural sensory-rich experience that included visual art, scent, and sound in an indoor mini-size brick alley way.
Labyrinth Installation on World Labyrinth Day at The Lotus Center
We created a public installation of a sensory-rich indoor walkable labyrinth as a free community event on World Labyrinth Day (May 4, 2024) at The Lotus Center for Wellness in Salt Lake City, Utah. Participants were able to walk an indoor labyrinth made of lights accompanied by visual art, scents, and sounds to make them feel as though they were immersed in a zen garden at dusk. The main labyrinth contained a surprise reveal in the center, and there were surrounding activities such as a letting go ritual, an inspiring card draw, special macarons made by Chef Alli McPharlin, and a take-home art postcard with a finger labyrinth. Check out the gallery below for some images from this event.
“Enough” Social Experiment and Installation
The “Enough” project is newly emerging and is an experimental project in the form of an installation. This installation is both a stationary one and a portable one. We are hoping to get this installation into both businesses and homes. In addition to this being a project to improve self-worth and mental health, this project represents a disruption in traditional marketing messaging as well as a means of creating safer spaces in public places and businesses.
Enough Project
Coffeeclad Collective Inspiration
“Coffeeclad” is a project in planning that will be a widespread public-created installation in which coffeeshops make a community notebook available for their customers to write in or draw in to offer inspiration to other creators. Additions to these books will be randomly selected and shared in a public web-accessible installation.