In her South Miami studio, Ana Trelles Portuondo is being watched. Her figural portraits—mostly female—gaze at her with an intensity of her own creation, as though hinting at sacred stories masked beneath layers of paint and collage. “I believe the eyes are the expression of your soul,” the artist says. “Capturing that expression is, for me, everything.” 🎨
📝 by Jennifer Pfaff Smith 📷 by Mary Beth Koeth for LUXE Magazine
Read Article HERE
What's better than talking about yourself for over an hour? Pretty much everything. This gal made it comfortable. She even let me ask her questions back. My therapist never lets me do that.
“I have always loved trees and wanted to protect them. I'd watch movies like WALL-E—where the whole earth is filled with trash—and I was the one kid who was like, "Oh my gosh, we have to do something!" If I see that movie today, I still get upset.”
Tasnim Mellouli on trees, wetlands, and her Muslim faith, 📝 by Wendy Becktold 📷 by Mary Beth Koeth, Photo Editor Sam Murphy
Have you ever wondered what zoologists wear to work every day?
Me neither.
After spending the morning with Zoo Miami's Ron Magill, Chelsea the sloth, and an 11-foot albino Burmese python named Prince, not only did I want to know what Ron wears, I wanted to know EVERYTHING.
I Work In Zoology. This Is What I Wear To Work Every Day. The Huffington Post
📝 by Katie McPherson, 📷 of Ron Magill by Mary Beth Koeth, 💪🏼 by Sidney Sherman, Photo Editor Chris Mcgonigal
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-zoologists-wear-to-work_l_5da5dd8de4b01c76560d6370
Mario, aka. The Empanada Man, makes empanadas for his friends at The Palace, a senior living community in Coral Gables, FL.
Photo by Mary Beth Koeth for AARP
Art Direction by Katrina Zook
Why Moms Are Pioneering the Marijuana Industry | Parents Magazine
There may still be a stigma around marijuana use across the country, but these mothers are blazing the way for women in the cannabis industry.
Melanie Sylvan Sachs and her son Elias, 2, at their home in Windermere, FL.
📷 by Mary Beth Koeth
Art Direction by Sarina Finkelstein
“After the Ohio Senior Olympics, Dad and his friends started training in earnest. They traveled to other ping-pong clubs, testing themselves against different players. Doc hired a coach, a kid in his 20s who is trying to make the actual U.S. Table Tennis team. My dad started being more conscientious about what he ate: fewer late-night potato chips, more vegetables.”
The Fountain of Youth Has a Net | September 2019 | Southwest: The Magazine
Writing by Laura Arenschield
Photography by Mary Beth Koeth
Art Direction by Desiree Espada
Creative Direction by Kevin de Miranda
Wardrobe and props provided by Broadview Heights Spotlights Theatre
This is the kind of assignment that makes my heart sing.
📷 by Mary Beth Koeth for AARP
“When I hear music, I feel electrified. I can’t just sit there—I’ve got to get up and dance. I got my first job as a cruise ship dance host when I was about 70. Since then, I’ve filled my time with three or four trips a year. It’s not a paid gig, but you do get food and lodging in exchange for a small daily fee. I do ballroom dances with the women traveling solo. My job is to make everyone look good on the dance floor. I get to meet all these lovely people. I don’t think of my age when I do this. It seems to erase time.” —As told to Michael Anft
Former high school teacher Richard Conti, 83, lives in Arlington, Massachusetts.
