Celebrating 20 years of publishing news & highlights for our South Miami community

In The Spotlight

PAUL MARCELLINI PHOTOGRAPHY

Paul Marcellini is a consistent winner of prestigious prizes for his stunning photography. In 2008 he won the Grand Prize in the Outdoor Photographer Magical Adventure contest to go on a 10-day photo safari of Kenya. The prize was a $15,000 travel package that proved to be a life-changing experience for the artist. His winning ... Read more

SUBRATA BASU, PAINTER

Subrata Basu is a licensed and experienced Architect and Urban Planner yet he has loved painting since he was in his teens. He sees an aesthetic kinship between architecture and art; in the play of light on architectural shapes and the creation of form committed to paper. He believes himself fortunate to have to have ... Read more

SYED AHMAD, GLASS ARTIST

Artist Syed Ahmad is part of a continuum of working in glass from its purported beginnings in ancient Mesopotamia in about 3000 BCE to today. Through the centuries, some cultures lost knowledge of the technique that simultaneously evolved in Egypt, Mycenae, China, and North Tyrol. The first glassmaking manual from the library of the Assyrian ... Read more

KLARA CHAVARRÍA, PAINTER AND DESIGNER

Klara Chavarría paints to reveal or inform the “human condition. ” Her canvases and drawings depict the human form abstractly while capturing the inward soul, that which defines the person. The artist is also concerned to demonstrate how much humans are a part of nature and how much they have strayed from it. In that ... Read more

KIRSTEN HINES, NATURE PHOTOGRAPHER AND AUTHOR

Kirsten Hines, author and nature photographer has just returned from Africa with new pictures from her travels to Rwanda, Tanzania, and Kenya. Recently unveiled at the Wirtz Gallery in South Miami, the subjects for Nature Reflections included mountain gorillas, zebras, and elephants, among others. Her mastery of the camera and understanding of the animals continue ... Read more

WENDY MAHR, DESIGNER

Wendy Mahr is a practitioner of all things creative. She is a designer of jewelry, of marketing and advertising campaigns, and the designer of a non-profit called “Crafting Confidence.” Armed with a degree in marketing from FIU, Wendy’s career took two tracks, one in the corporate realm, the other, entrepreneurial and creative. Her employment with ... Read more

RONALD SHELLEY ARTIST AND SCULPTOR

Ronald Shelley likes to frequent local thrift stores for art supplies. He’s not looking for canvases or old frames; instead he is searching for toy cars and trucks with oversized tires, plastic spoons, and bits of wire and cloth to incorporate into his sculptures. His latest efforts include “Wheelfly” insects and racing cars from the ... Read more

BRIAN CALL, NATURE PHOTOGRAPHER

Many artists seem to know when it’s time to take a new direction in their own aesthetic; a time to depart the safe harbor of familiarity into the waters of the untried. Brian Call, fine art nature photographer known for his ability to capture the intriguing beauty of the Everglades and its wildlife, is one ... Read more

MERZATTA JEWELRY ROTARY ART FESTIVAL WINNER

Danielle and Chris Merzatta are business partners and partners in life who create unique jewelry with designs inspired by natural textures. Both were art students at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan who ended up working on a project in the Grenadines. While there, they found shapes and textures along the beach that would ... Read more

KIRSTEN HINES NATURE PHOTOGRAPHER AND AUTHOR

Kirsten Hines is surrounded by warm sunlight in her Coconut Grove cottage gallery. Just outside in the front yard is an enclosure serving as a home for two African tortoises. At the rear of the cottage is a small aviary complete with a canary, many finches and a breeding pair of bobwhites. The birds provide ... Read more