We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Aaron Sciandra a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Aaron, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?
Historically, my work has been difficult characterize. This is primarily due to the fact that I have worked in a huge variety of media over the years, instead of sticking to just one or two things. When I went to art school I was debating between majoring in sculpture, printmaking, or fashion. I decided on sculpture because it allowed me the most flexibility to work in different media. I have had many potential employers tell me they “wouldn’t know what to do with” me because I did so many things. This always seemed like an odd complaint.
Over the course of my career I have managed to make some connections with people and companies that celebrate the diversity of my abilities instead of frowning upon it. I am at a point now where I frequently do not know exactly how I will execute a job when I start it but I will figure it out, get good at it over the course of the project and then, all too frequently, never have use for that skill again. A friend once described me as “an expert at being a beginner,” which I thought was a lovely way of putting it.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I grew up in Fresno, California, and moved to Brooklyn in my late teens to go to art school. I have been making all manner of things since I was a little kid. Much of the work I have done is sewing or textile based, but I also have experience in a wide variety of other art & craft media. For most of my early life I desperately aspired to be a Fine Artist, but the closer I got to that world, the less I wanted to be a part of it.
After I graduated from college I was looking for work as an artist’s assistant so I ran around Williamsburg hanging flyers that said “Art Slave, available NOW!” A woman who was a few years older than me stopped me and said “You should apply to work where I just got a job! Tell them that I referred you. They don’t look at resumes without a referral.” This was very generous of her, considering that we were complete strangers. So I applied and got a job at Spaeth Design, a display company that for many years made the elaborate animated holiday window displays for Saks, Lord & Taylor, Macy’s, etc. This was my first, completely accidental, step into the world of window dressing, visuals, and display.
Display has been a good fit for me because it takes advantage of my variety of skills and frequently challenges me to learn new ones. Over the years I have had the great pleasure of working with many amazing clients, including Barneys NY, Tory Burch, Bergdorf Goodman, & Marni, among others. In 2009 I had the honor of working directly with First Lady Michelle Obama and Simon Doonan to design the Blue Room Christmas tree at the White House. In 2020 I was nominated for a James Beard Foundation award for my design contributions to the Connie Bar at the TWA Hotel.
It has always been a bit tricky to characterize what I do, but after years of thinking about it, the best way to describe what I do is that I work in solving visual problems and storytelling.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
The primary goal in my creative journey is to simply continue to create. This applies to many things that are both big and small. I try to take notice of how creative decision-making fits into areas of my life other than work.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding part of being an artist/creative for me is that I get to create beauty and visual excitement out in the world. I love having things I made in environments where they will be seen by lots of people. Even if it’s something small and most passersby don’t notice or care, it is still like a fun little secret: “I made that!”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.aaronsciandra.com
- Instagram: @mraaronsciandra
