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If you want to have an "oh, wow" moment at the Utah Arts Festival, look for Dallas artist Jennifer Lashbrook's booth on the walk parallel to the City Library — and get out your cellphone.
Lashbrook's "paintings" are pixel grids pieced together from hardware-store paint samples. She painstakingly sorts and files her colors, and places them to make complex mosaics. Don't ask how long it takes to make one: "I don't keep track, because I don't want to know," she said.
Lashbrook started working with paint samples in college, but worked a day job managing a Brazilian steakhouse before she became a full-time artist just over two years ago.
Now she has her artwork in major hotels, and hanging alongside works by Andy Warhol and other famous artists. (Last year, she was the Utah Arts Festival's People's Choice Award winner.)
Many of her works depict famous artworks and photos of celebrities. But, like those Magic Eye posters you used to see in shopping malls, you can't always tell what you're looking at right away. That's where the cellphone comes in.
In Lashbrook's booth, she has small signs telling people to use their cellphone camera to get a better look. More often than not, if you didn't recognize the image before, you will through your phone's screen.
"The cellphone creates distance," Lashbrook said, like stepping back to get a wider view. It's the electronic version of squinting.
Lashbrook discovered the cellphone trick when she created a self-portrait and showed it to her mother. "She said, 'I can't even tell it's a face, let alone that it's you,'" Lashbrook said. Then her mom took a picture of it on her phone and sent it to Lashbrook's sister. On the phone, the image was clear.
One of the best ways to try the cellphone trick is just outside Lashbrook's booth. The Cricket won't give away which one it is — but when you figure it out, and if you're familiar with how the original was created, your mind will be blown. —
Closing day
P Today is the final day of the Utah Arts Festival.
When • Noon-11 p.m.
Where • Library and Washington squares, 200 East and 400 South, Salt Lake City
Tickets • $12 at the gate; children 12 and younger get in free; uaf.org