Filling the barns with art
A series of paintings by Barbara Sistak Baur of Island Lake looks good enough to eat.
Literally, she calls them "bakery art," and they include tempting varieties of pastries, cakes and even loaves of bread.
"So many people stop to see them," Baur says. "They're real attention-getters."
They also draw the attention of judges. At the Kenosha Art Fair in July, Baur won best of show honors for her unique collection.
Her acrylic paintings will be featured this weekend in the 34th annual Art in the Barn Juried Exhibition & Sale at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington.
This year's event takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on the hospital grounds at 450 W. Route 22 in Barrington.
Baur is one of 165 artists from across the Midwest accepted into the show. Collectively their work features a variety of media, from oil, watercolor and acrylics, to jewelry, sculpture, glass, fabric art, woodworking and photography.
Other local artists include oil painter Les Boeder of Barrington and Schaumburg sculptor, Dante Ambrogi, who is donating one of his bronze works to the hospital's new healing gardens.
Baur describes her style as "lively, textural and vibrant." As for her unusual subject matter, she says she came upon it while looking at a bakery case, naturally. "There were rows and rows of colors, shapes and textures," Baur says. "The repetition and the rhythm of it really intrigued me."
Her work, like that of all of the other artists, is set off by the cluster of original farm buildings that come alive each fall with the mounting of the annual art show and family festival.
Patrons find artists tucked away in the old corn crib, the upper and lower barns, the machine shed and mill room, as well as outlet tents, before relaxing on haystacks while they listen to live music and grab some lunch.
Multiple displays of corn stalks, colorful mums and pumpkins add to the rural atmosphere.
Each year, organizers say, the chance to step back in time to a rustic farm setting, combined with original fine art pieces, has proved to be a big draw.
"What makes us different is our setting," says Sherry Tomasko of Cary, chairing the show with Sharon Vogel of Fox River Grove. "We're set on acres of rolling hills, with lots of green grass, and of course our historic barns. You really feel like you're getting out into the country, and breathing fresh air, when you come."
Last year, members of the Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital Auxiliary estimate the art fair and family festival drew more than 6,500 people over its two-day run. They add that since its inception in 1975, the event has raised more than $2 million for hospital enhancements.
If you go
What: 34th annual Art in the Barn Juried Art & Exhibition Sale
When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Where: On the grounds of Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, 450 W. Route 22 in Barrington
Cost: $5
Call: (847) 381-0123 or visit advocatehealth.com/gshp