GA_070519

20 | July 5, 2019 | The glencoe anchor life & arts
glencoeanchor.com
95 exhibitors to
set up at CBG
Art Festival
Submitted Content
The Chicago Botanic
Garden in Glencoe is once
again set to host the Chicago
Botanic Garden Art
Festival this Fourth of July
weekend.
Returning for its ninth
year, the art festival features
the exceptional work
of 95 juried artists, and in
keeping with the exquisite
scenery, all art will embody
a botanic theme, use
or material.
This one-of-a-kind
event kicks off from 4-7
p.m. Friday, July 5, with a
preview night. The festival
continues from 10 a.m.-5
p.m. Saturday, July 6, and
closes from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday, July 7. Admission
to this world-class event is
free for all attendees.
“The stunning backdrop
of the Chicago Botanic
Garden is unmatched
and sets the tone for this
one-of-a-kind Art Festival,”
said Amy Amdur,
president of Amdur Productions,
producer of the
Chicago Botanic Garden
Festival. “Finding a piece
of art for your home at this
show is a wonderful way
to bring nature into your
home year-round.”
Original art in a variety
of mediums including
paintings, photography,
fashion/wearables, furniture,
sculpture, jewelry,
glass, wood, mixed media
will be available for purchase
in a range of price
points, so there truly is
something for everyone.
Artists will be available
throughout the weekend
for booth chats and demonstrations,
along with art
activities for kids such as
art fest bingo, spin art, coloring
and a graffiti wall.
The 385-acre Chicago
Botanic Garden features
27 breathtaking display
gardens and four natural
areas uniquely situated on
nine islands surrounded
by lakes. After a day spent
exploring and viewing the
variety of artwork on display,
you are sure to work
up an appetite. The Garden
View Cafe will be serving
a fresh menu featuring local,
sustainably produced,
and seasonal ingredients.
The Garden View Café is
located in the Visitor Center
of the Chicago Botanic
Garden. You can also find
food and beverages at
the Garden Grille and the
Rose Terrace Beer Garden.
For more information
about the Chicago Botanic
Garden Art Festival on Friday
July 5, Saturday July
6, and Sunday July 7, or
about Amdur Productions,
please call (847) 926-4300
or email info@amdurproductions.com.
Preview artists
online before you visit
the Fair by visiting Amdur
online at amdurproductions.com,
as well as Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram
or Pinterest.
visit us online at
GLENCOEANCHOR.com
Glencoe resident publishes
first novel ‘Then She Woke Up’
Hilary Anderson
Freelance Reporter
Jaime Baum always
wanted to write a fiction
novel, but the Glencoe
resident faced a personal
challenge.
Baum, a life-long journalist
and public relations
professional always had to
deal with facts. She now
wanted to write a story
based on fiction.
“I always admired professional
storytellers,” said
Baum. “Could I get inside
fictitious characters’ heads
and make up a story that
people would read?”
She decided to take a
leap of faith and try. That
was in 2015.
Baum now is the author
of a recently published
novel, “Then She
Woke Up.” It is the story
of a young woman, Joni
Griffith Wexler — a wife
and mother — who is
looking for purpose in her
life and wonders, “How
did I get here?”
Baum’s journey to finally
become that fiction
writer began by taking a
six- month sabbatical from
her job. That was followed
by a trip to the Glencoe Library.
“I found a book ‘Writing
Fiction for Dummies’ and
did all the exercises,” she
said.
Baum put up a corkboard
and attached index
cards to it.
“I planned how I thought
the story should run and
put my facts in order,” she
said. “It did not take long
for me to realize the story
is not good and would be
boring. I threw out the
index cards. I wanted my
novel to be something I
Jaime Baum, of Glencoe, published her first book,
“Then She Woke Up.” photo submitted
would like to read and
which would be entertaining
and tell a story that others
would want to read.”
Baum said her husband,
Robert Mann, and their
combined eight children,
never saw her first draft
but showed it to friends for
comments.
“My husband never saw
a word of that first draft,”
she said. “I think a person
does not want to be judged
by someone so close to
you. But my friends read it
and made some good comments.”
She attended a couple
weekend sessions at Lake
Forest’s Ragdale and the
Story Studio there.
“There is comfort being
in the presence of likeminded
people,” Baum
said. “One gets a good,
positive and supportive
energy from being there
along with different perspectives.”
Baum developed her
book’s main character,
Joni Griffith Wexler.
“Joni is imperfect,” she
said. “Like in life, people
do not know her whole
story. She rushes from
one impulsive decision
to the next. It takes two
of the character’s closest
friends during an unexpected
weekend and the
wisdom of a psychic to
give Joni the confidence
to take control of her
life. But a shocking event
threatens to ruin everything.”
Baum said she finished
the first draft during the
six months of her sabbatical.
She then put the book
away in a drawer and left it
there for a while.
“My character kept calling
to me so I let her out of
the drawer and decided to
get the book ready for publishing,”
Baum said.
She went to the Chicago
Writers Association events
to listen to other writers,
learn about publishing and
network.
“I decided to forego the
challenge of finding a literary
agent and decided to
publish the book myself,”
said Baum. “I researched
and decided to format with
Amazon but had a problem
putting on page numbers
correctly among other
things.”
Baum solved that problem
by hiring a woman she
knew with the technical
expertise to do it correctly.
“I would hit publish and
it did not work,” she said.
“The woman figured out
what my problem was.”
Baum went “live,” as
she calls it, in May 2019.
“We had champagne,”
Baum said. “There is a lot
to be said for relishing the
moment. My husband was
very supportive whenever
I was stuck — sometimes
laughing and sometimes
crying.”
Baum says the book is
an easy-read.
“Everyone who has read
it says things in the story
just jump out at you,” she
said. “They say it feels as
though they know someone
in real life like in the
book but the characters are
all fictional and not based
on any actual person. But
there has to be an element
of truth in all fiction.”
Baum’s next project is
writing about her father,
Dave Baum, a well-known
personality in Chicago radio.
Jaime Baum’s book is
available on Amazon.com,
at Winnetka’s Bookstall,
Wilmette’s Yogaview,
Glencoe’s Reach Yoga and
the Mi-Te Printing.