By Raquel Garcia….

An artist’s life is often an exercise in hope, an intrinsic belief that the beauty captured on some medium might resonate into the hearts of others who can connect with the maker’s creation. Artist Federico Carosio III has gracefully achieved this milestone in part because of his South Miami landscape paintings that helped elevate him to his venerated status today as an internationally renowned master artist.

As a 2 year old child growing up in Barranquilla, Colombia, Carosio was mesmerized with an informal pastime his father enjoyed, creating clay sculptures. He also had formally trained and recognized artist relatives in Genoa, Italy from his family’s Italian lineage, but it was his dad’s humble works that truly inspired him initially.

It is a long, fascinating and circuitous route that eventually brought Carosio to South Miami where his work blossomed and grew. His children, Federico and Bianca, whom he recognizes as his “best work of art,” appeared to have paved the way. Back then, in the early 90s, his son attended South Miami Middle School and became a part of the wrestling team.

Explains Carosio, “I had been a professional artist since 1974 living and working in New Jersey, New York City, Saint Louis and Canada, but after we moved to Miami my kids attended South Miami Middle School. My son joined the wrestling team at the school. And of course you get involved in the curriculum of your kids and at the time the wrestling team needed money for travel to compete and so I would go to local businesses and promise them a poster of my work for every $50 they donated to the wrestling team.”

“It was only after my kids were born that I began to do reproductions in posters to help make a good living to support them. When I moved here I was already doing landscapes but South Miami was great fodder for my work.” Carosio, whose work is a cross between impressionism and realism with a bit of pop art thrown in, was dazzled by the tropical beauty enveloping the city and sought to record it from his unique perspective.

“Most people cruise along Sunset Drive amidst the beautiful scenery and don’t even notice. We walk straight through life and often miss the images of the world around us like how natural light reflects on lush vegetation, how shadows change and highlight the mood of a Royal Poinciana in bloom. I try to capture this in my work.”

His mission to draw out the natural environmental beauty around us appears to be working since Carosio has designed the official poster(s) for the South Miami Rotary Club Art Show, the Chamber South Miami Art Show, the Coconut Grove Art Show, Key Biscayne, and Pinecrest.

His booths at the South Miami art shows and Coconut Grove shows are located in the center of the action; prime booth location. “The shows are hard work but it is such an amazing way to connect with the public and develop relationships with art enthusiasts that value your work. Obviously the crowd attending appreciates art and I have been blessed to make many enduring friends and clients through the shows.”

Carosio is too humble to name names but he does unwittingly drop a hint or two about the A-list supporters of his work who connect with his vision and promote it in their own circles, often gifting his work for holidays or special occasions.

The Kampong in Coconut Grove houses his classic enormous originals and they actually call him when certain exotic plants are blooming in hopes he might drop by to paint them. The Biltmore Hotel has reproductions of his work in their suites and his famous Main Highway landscape is often mistaken as the official Coconut Grove poster of 1985. The truth is he and his team situated themselves that year just outside the arts festival grounds and sold the posters from their cars so as to not get in trouble with the organizers.

Unswayed by the vicissitudes of the artist life, the majestic trees like the Banyans and Live Oaks that come alive in his work led Carosio to urban reforestation efforts sponsored by corporations. He has been invited to exhibit at the state capitol and throughout the United States. He has thrice been nominated to the Florida Artists Hall of Fame yet not yet inducted.

Carosio is no brooding artist but rather maintains a childlike sense of wonder and contagious joy about the beauty in the world around him and jokes that once he is long gone or in his 80’s and oblivious he may actually get inducted into the Artist’s Hall of Fame. He feels true achievement in the fact that his work has become a visual symbol promoting South Florida to the world.

Carosio describes his creative essence as painting layers and layers upon layers of intricate details in his pieces. He appears to have three categories of work these days: the classic landscapes of South Florida that have made him so famous, a Jackson Pollockish abstract impressionism, and his pop art work begun in the early 70’s in New York whereby he paints aluminum soda cans bent into a shape resembling a face.

“I met Andy Warhol in the 70’s in New York. I still use pop art in my landscapes when I paint a fire hydrant or yellow dotted street lines included in a natural setting.”

Federico Carosio III permanent art exhibits can be viewed at the First National Bank of South Miami, Kampong, and The Biltmore. His next exhibit will be at the Vizcaya in early October.

For more information visitcarosioarts.com or call 305-385-7866.

By Raquel Garcia….
A recently approved special events permit regulations ordinance passed by the city commission may eliminate or substantially diminish iconic South Miami community seasonal events according to event hosts.

New requirements for event permits are still being finalized by the city manager says Mayor Phillip Stoddard. The established parameters include: neighborhood consensus approval prior to affected street closings, city clean up and police protection deposits in advance, financial reimbursements for any perceived lost city revenue, and insurance liability coverage in several categories.

President of the Red Sunset Merchant Association and co-proprietor of Footworks along with his wife Laurie, Hans Huseby, recently addressed the commission in absolute exasperation for the bureaucratic hoops imposed on their not for profit organization TeamFootworks during their annual Twilight Run 5 K.

For over twenty years TeamFootworks has been organizing community races like the Mercedes Benz Run and Twilight Run to benefit area causes such as the South Miami Police Explorers and many other area charities.

Huseby told the commissioners that if the Twilight Run Race was again charged ambiguous fees in excess of $10,000. for the privilege to host a community run (although those fees have since been waived and a $600. fee was ultimately imposed) they would simply call it quits.

“If the $10,000 Twilight Run fee happened again we would not come back and that would really be a shame for the city. We have been around for 25 years like the fabric that is part of our town and this is not a threat but it would just be financially foolish to put these events on in the future with these kind of costs. Our profits come from donations and we don’t like to toot our own horn but anybody can look at our books and see since our inception our event monies have been donated right back into the community,” said TeamFootworks founder Hans Huseby.

Mayor Stoddard says the fees will actually more likely be cheaper now than they were in the past and establishing a uniform system will prevent the excessive fees and confusion felt by community hosting organizations in the past.

Stoddard explained “This is not a revenue generating objective; we are simply covering the city’s expenses. Liability insurance will depend on the event, like a parade for example would incur more coverage. The potential cost losses to the city for special events are still under review by the city manager.”

The South Miami Rotary Club recently addressed the commission in hopes of waving the permit requirements to host their annual popular art show which according to the organization draws over 30,000 visitors to South Miami, 84% of which say they will return according to the group’s data. This popular art show last year was also charged in excess of over $10,000. for street closings.

South Miami Rotary Club President Horace Feliu says the city really needs to look at the big picture. “We should respect, value and support our community traditions. These events showcase South Miami, they bring in new people, the merchants benefit, and it is free advertising for the city. The South Miami Rotary Club contributes to the academic support of area schools and kids with its proceeds from the art show.”

Mayor Stoddard said many of the original fees imposed on groups were eventually waived and he stated that he supported a waiver of the fees for the February South Miami Rotary Club Art Show.

According to Stoddard the street closing charges would be 25 cents per foot along with meter fees. This cost alone could potentially run into the thousands of dollars for the Twilight Run.

Huseby takes particular issue with the street closings saying they are not toll roads and why should the street closings themselves be an issue. As President of the Red Sunset Merchant Association, he indicated the group is working on a letter to the city to not impose fees other than fire protection, police, and meters.

Huseby wonders “Why can’t the Twilight Run hire a private company to do post clean up? Why do we have to be forced to pay someone from public works to do it? Is it creating busy work for a public employee? It is not like we are a bunch of carpetbaggers here to rip off the local yokels. This is our community and events like ours should be embraced and enthusiastically supported. The Parade of Elves, Twilight Run, Chamber South and South Miami Art Show are the heart and soul of our city.”

Feliu agrees that the basics such as fire rescue, police and trash clean up should be standard practice and end there. “When it brings hardship to an event host as it did to Bill Steckley and the folks at Volksblast it becomes counterproductive.”

Stoddard remains hopeful the changes in event permit fees will streamline the process and make it easier and cheaper for sponsors to host a South Miami experience. He added that the Farmer’s Market permit fee waivers which some residents had issues with, will only be waived around the proximity of city hall because it is a city sponsored event. Any signage around town promoting the market will also be subject to the permit ordinance stipulations.