Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Sisti.
Kimberly, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
Hi there! I’m a wedding coordinator, event stylist, floral artist and the legacy of a family of incredibly inspiring individuals.
My great-uncle Tony was many things (boxer, teacher, patron), but foremost he was a beloved artist. Overflowing with creative passion, his life was his masterpiece and he threw himself into every detail.
Growing up, I was lucky to be surrounded by stories of his epic adventures.
The years he studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Paris and Munich. The art gallery he opened in New York. The time he travelled to Congo with Ernest Hemingway. The boxing match he arranged in Rome to finance his return home. The famed portraits he painted for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, New York Yankees manager Joe McCarthy, Benito Mussolini and Fiat Motor Company President Giovanni Agnelli.
The past blossomed in my young mind, moulding me into an eager vessel for art and storytelling.
Then came the romance…
Long before I was born, my father, Michael, fell in love with photography. As a teenager, he spent every spare second in Great-Uncle Tony’s studio and soon became a well-known photographer in my hometown of Buffalo.
To date, he has photographed over 2,300 weddings. That’s a lot of wedding cake… and even more romance.
You could say that I caught the “wedding bug” from my Dad. His studio was filled with the “old school”; massive volumes of invitation suites, and what seemed to be an endless variety of bridal albums and magazines of what was “en vogue” at that time.
As a child, I would reverently examine the bridal albums, watching how my dad catalogued the most important parts of the day. The expressions on guests’ faces when they saw the bride walking down the aisle, the stunning backdrops of vows being taken, the joyous farewell at the end of the night. I so yearned to be a part of this process somehow.The signs could be seen from the very beginning. At my eighth-grade graduation ceremony, I was named “the next Martha Stewart for Weddings”. As a teenager, I plastered every inch of my bedroom of my bedroom in pictures – but not of boy bands or movies.
In the days before Pinterest, you could have walked into my room and seen a living mood board with fledgling artistic concepts devoted to the atmosphere and details of weddings I adored. I took every floral and art class available to me as a high school student.
And then I went on to earn a B.A. in Classical Studies with a focus on Ancient Greek and Latin language. The plan, despite what destiny had in store for me, was to become a professor of Ancient History.
Then one day I realized I didn’t want to teach history. I wanted to share yours. As it’s being made.
Today, I channel my artistic legacy into full-service wedding coordination, event styling and floral design that makes your love story and special day unforgettable.
I believe it is my honor and duty to keep our family name in the art industry. And even if the exact art is different than my predecessors, it conveys the same feelings and principles:
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
My art has many layers, the same way a painting does; it is a multi-faceted, ever-changing entity depending on that state the artist is currently within. On the most basic level, I design and plan events for my clients- usually Brides and Grooms.
The next layer to event design is telling a couple’s story; without these details, it’s just another event. By infusing their day with numerous design elements that describe how they met, or the love they have for traveling, or teaching, etc, really helps make the event stand alone as not just a major life event, but as their foundation, or mythology; their story.
The third level incorporates color theory. The palette is carefully selected so as to best showcase not only my Bride and Groom’s style, but identify the atmosphere that they feel comfortable in sharing their celebration with family and friends.
After color, I apply flowers. Floral brings life and nature into the event. Floral also creates interest in the hard goods already selected in the previous level and adds texture. Flowers unify the living elements with the non-living pieces. Handpicking each varietal is one of the keys to making a personal and unique event. Sometimes we need lots of movement and heat, and at other times we need monochromatic simplicity; each event is very different.
Each item, whether it be the lighting, table linens or name card are carefully selected because everything really does matter. Weddings are incredibly personal, and it is my goal to bridge the gap between what clients dream of, and bring that to reality, even if they don’t understand the steps that need to be followed to achieve the end result.
The sterotype of a starving artist scares away many potentially talented artists from pursuing art – any advice or thoughts about how to deal with the financial concerns an aspiring artist might be concerned about?
I think one of the best things to do is start small, and decide right away what is your immediate and intended goal. Design with intent, and a plan, and then leave space to discover and teach yourself what works and what does not. Be conscious, and understand that everyone makes mistakes, but never stop refining it. For example, if one’s goal is to work with color and understand how it blends with others, then invest in good oil pastels. Don’t worry about the paper necessarily if the texture isn’t at the forefront of your design. Don’t try to buy out the supply store, focus on one aspect, and master it. After a month, maybe focus on texture or ambient lighting. Keep it fresh; keep challenging yourself. Once you feel as if you’ve exhausted the topic, put it away for later. You will come back to tackle the next level when you’re ready. By focusing on these small things, one will eventually build an arsenal of good quality products and useful techniques; they will learn how to manipulate their items to tell the story that they want to tell.
Sometimes, I like to refer to it as “restrained chaos.” I will many times go to the flower market and pick out a bunch of items that I originally had no intent in purchasing. They might be varietals that I don’t typically buy or a color that isn’t my favorite, but something pushes me to put them in my cart. I need to be able to bend these items to my will and let myself be bent by them. A true master at their art understands that the relationship between the artist and their medium is not a one-way street. One must be willing to change their preconceived notions; they must be vulnerable. When one is exposed, they are better able to illustrate and question their relationship with the current medium. Playing with flowers sounds ridiculous on paper, but it teaches the artist how to create an effect, and in turn, be affected by their very own muse. And hopefully, continue to push their own boundaries, as well as others.
My other piece of advice is to read. Go to the masters of your art, and look at their work. Study why they did what they did, and how they interpreted their environment and created something. If you don’t understand, invest in an art class. Give yourself the tools to effectively teach yourself in the future. Never stop reading and trying to understand why and how. These are often times the least expensive in cost, but most intensive in thought.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
Hire me! Actually, you can find my work on my Instagram account, and also in private publications. I strive to produce work that not only resonates with my clients, but also the general public. Many of my weddings have been featured in online publications, and my stylized photo shoots take it up another level for inspiration. These shoots and coordinating short films showcase the ever-changing artist that I am. Though I might not be painting on a canvas like my Great Uncle, or gardening like my Grandmother, Bernice (who I owe all my love of flowers and baking to), I am designing with intent. I’m not creating for the sake of making something pretty, Beauty is everywhere if you’re willing to look for it, but I’m creating with an overall goal in mind. For example, the way that two flowers can be placed into an arrangement to show warmth, or create excitement. How one can juxtapose flowers to help illustrate their similarities and differences, and yet show comfort at the same time.
To entice the human viewing one’s work to reflect on what they might be thinking or feeling at that moment is paramount for me. Event design isn’t just about celebrating an event, or telling a story, but also connecting the living to all the other elements in their world. There is always meaning that is beyond our use of words; that’s why there are flowers to bridge the gap between those spoken and those that run around tirelessly in our mind.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sisti.co
- Phone: 858.722.6491
- Email: kimberly@sisti.co
- Instagram: @sisti.co
- Facebook: sisti&co.
Image Credit:
Alice Ahn Photography www.aliceahnphotography.com
Alice Ahn Photography www.aliceahnphotography.com
Shelby, Something Minted www.somethingminted.com
Sara Holt, Pink Feather Photography
https://www.pinkfeatherphotography.com
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition, please let us know here.
