Limitations do not exist in art for Sascha Westendorp. Art is meant to be explored and combined, a process of trial and error, a belief that has fuelled her lifelong pursuit.
Not wanting to be confined to any specific medium, she instead chooses to embrace several, a true mixed media artist.
“I always thought mixed media was exciting because you can use whatever you want,” Westendorp says. “That’s why it’s called mixed media. You can throw everything at the canvas or the wood or whatever you do it on.”
There is no set definition for mixed media. It can encompass all art media, so long as more than one is used in the creation of a piece.
Westendorp has always been interested in working with multiple mediums. But it was her father’s profession in architecture and interest in photography that has influenced her work today.
She says she always wanted to work with photography, combining it with painting in some form. After a brief trial with portraits, she returned to her love of architecture.
“My daughter said, ‘Mom, you always photograph doors,’” says Westendorp. “I find them fascinating. I find doors are, you know, you open a door and another one closes. There are so many sayings with doors or how people feel about doors.”
Mixed media, she says, is an experiment. There are so many different mediums out there, and she wants to try as many as she can.
“Some mediums, they will not work together,” she says. “And that’s the thing. It’s trial and error. You can try everything and put things together and there will be fails, but there might also be something really great.”
It is out of those mistakes that Westendorp says something great and exciting can evolve.
“It’s basically you can use whatever you want, whatever works.”
Westendorp is currently showcasing her work at Art Downtown, which runs Wednesdays at Lot 19 and Fridays at Cathedral Square until September 11.
By Nathan Durec