The North Shore Weekend, June 10, 2023

Here's Your To Do List:

Let’s review your taxes to confirm whether an appeal is in order.

I will tour your home with my stager to determine the best use of space.

Hire Junk Relief and get rid of all the stuff you are essentially storing but have forgotten about!

Book service checks for all mechanicals and the roof.

Schedule painting and any renovation work for the down months - it will cost you less!

This will not only make your life easier come Spring but will also get you top dollar - call me for a free assessment.

2023 DEALS

Northshore closed

117 Sterling, Wilmette

1087 Cherry, Winnetka

3231 Central, Evanston

1266 Greenwood, Deerfied

Northshore Under Contract

532 Wesley, Evanston

618 10th, Wilmette

1040 Spruce, Winnetka

1480 Kurtis, Lake Forest

City Closed

3578 W Wabansia

2641 W Rice

2867 W Palmer #2

City Under Contract

345 N Canal #301

Active City

2120 W Giddings

$1,799,000

NEWS

9 music al fresco

The Art Center Highland Park will host three outdoor concerts on its lawn this summer

9 smart recycler

North Shore Country Day School students head to the national Invention Convention competition

LIFESTYLE & ARTS

10 unidentified objects

Rex Reed calls this science-fiction fantasy film strange, but appealing

10 the boogeyman

This film about a forgotten Stephen King short story gets zero stars

11 material pursuits

Experience the ultimate James Bond "assignment," dig into some very pricey gelato, and covet a pair Cartier sunglasses

12 #hashtag

Self-dubbed "momtrepreneur" and founder of Mantra Matcha, Katie Mankoff shares what's trending in her life

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

14 sunday breakfast

pg11

Highland Park art teacher Caren Miller has a gift for stirring the latent skills of her students

Door

County

BY MITCH HURST THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

If you haven’t made plans yet for Independence Day festivities, save the evening of July 4 for the annual Lake Forest Festival & Fireworks extravaganza. The event features food and music for families, activities for children of all ages, and spectacular pyrotechnic “oohs and aahs” by nightfall for a fireworks display that is considered one of the best on the North Shore.

Created and sponsored by Friends of the Lake Forest Parks and Recreation Foundation in 2006, the festival has brought in such musical acts as The Village People, Dennis DeYoung, and KC and the Sunshine Band. This year’s musical entertainment will be provided by ‘90s cover and party band Run Forest Run with Fletcher Rockwell providing classic rock and roll.

Rick Amos, a volunteer board member of the Friends of the Lake Forest Parks and Recreation Foundation who is integrally involved in the planning of the 4th of July festivities, says it’s a great opportunity for residents to support and get more deeply involved in the community. The festival is one of four events hosted annually by the foundation to support Lake Forest Parks and Recreation programs and activities.

“We have 15 members on the Friends of Lake Forest Parks and Recreation Foundation board, and then we also have some ambassadors within the community that help us get the word out and talk about what we’re doing,” Amos says. “We’ve been doing this festival for 17 years now and we’ve got a committee of committed

and hosting events is a primary activity of the foundation. Events in addition to the fireworks festival include a golf outing, the Lake Forest Musical Festival, and a Tree Lighting Festival after Thanksgiving. One hundred percent of proceeds support the Lake Forest Parks and Recreation Department.

The Lake Forest Festival & Fireworks raises about $50,000 of the foundation’s annual goal of $125,000, and Amos says his volunteer involvement is all about creating opportunities for residents of the North Shore to get more involved and engaged in their communities.

“What’s great about the foundation is we’re all volunteers, and we care about the community, and we all want engagement and to create community wellness,” he says. “We want to get people out of the house and come have fun and exercise and see the great amenities we have, which include the beach and the parks.”

The more people who get involved in the community and contribute in even small ways, the better off the community will be, Amos adds. Parks and Recreation is an integral part of the community and getting people out in a positive way is a great way to get residents to bond together.

The centerpiece of the Festival & Fireworks is, of course, the fireworks show. The City of Lake Forest bills it as the best on the North Shore, in part due to its length (20 minutes) and the views.

“Our fireworks vendor does a lot of these shows around the area, and they confirm ours is the best, because we have an extensive show,” Amos says. “It’s choreographed to music and the proximity of the patrons is a bit unique. You’re far enough for safety but you’re close enough to feel it.”

This proximity makes the experience more

“You feel like you’re part of the fireworks and in most cases, while they’re not overhead, they’re very, very close,” says Amos. “It’s not like there’s a 100,000 people there or a million like in downtown Chicago. We’ll get eight to 10 thousand people there, so it’s got this unique feel and it’s more intimate. It’s big enough but not too big, and we feel that all these things add up to it being the best show on the North Shore.”

Some people in Lake Forest compare the event to a Hallmark movie with a hometown feel where everybody is friendly, in a, “Hey how you doing, good to see you” kind of way. Amos says it’s neither overwhelming or underwhelming; just an appropriate feeling for the size of the community.

and in the past the festival has neared a sellout, but Amos says there’s always been tickets available at the door.

In addition to music and fireworks, the festival will also feature food and drinks for purchase (or attendees can bring their own) and a play area for kids with inflatables, rides, and carnival games. It will be held on the grounds just east of Deerpath Middle School, 400 East Hastings Road, and runs from 6:00 to 11:00 p.m.

Individual tickets for the event can be purchased via a link on the foundation’s website and the day of the festival. Early bird individual tickets are $25 for residents of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff, and $30 for nonresidents. There are also VIP Passes available for both individuals and families. The event is rain or shine, and tickets are not refundable.

Sally Swarthout, Director of Parks, Recreation, Forestry, and Cemetery for the City of Lake Forest, says the Parks and Recreation Foundation Board has been instrumental over the years in helping the department reach out and engage with the community.

“They are a strong supporter of Parks and Recreation and a strong supporter of Lake Forest. All of their events are important to the community,” Swarthout says. “They bring us together and, more importantly, raise funds to offset costs for programs and services with Parks and Recreation. They have passion and vision for what they do with their mission.”

Swarthout says with the cancellation last year and the unfortunate circumstances with which it occurred, she’s excited to renew the tradition of the Festival & Fireworks.

folks that work on it and some vendors that assist us.”

The mission of the foundation, Amos says, is to build community within the cities of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff and to create awareness and engagement about the activities of the Parks and Recreation Department. Fundraising

interactive. Some of the larger communities in the area can’t offer this because they have to use larger spaces for their shows, and festival goers can be half a mile to a quarter of a mile away. At the Lake Forest festival, revelers are about 1,000 to 1,500 feet away, which compared to others is very close.

He expects a good crowd since the event is on a Tuesday this year and is keeping his fingers crossed for good weather, which always helps boost turnout. Capacity is limited to 10,000,

“It’s a great event for the community and for families with kids. There’s something for everyone,” she says.

For more information about the Lake Forest Festival & Fireworks and to purchase tickets, visit lfparksandrec.com.

The festival offers fun for kids of all ages. Photography courtesy of Matthew Rubinberg

Music for this year’s festival will be provided by ‘90s cover band Run Forrest Run.

Many revelers at the festival dress in patriotic costumes to celebrate Independence Day.

MUSIC, AL FRESCO SMART RECYCLER

The front lawn of The Art Center Highland Park will come alive with music this summer as part of its “Late Night at the Galleries” series.

Time to bring out the blankets, dinner, and lawn chairs to an evening of music on the lawn of The Art Center Highland Park (TAC) as its popular “Late Night at the Galleries” series continues.

Three concerts featuring Crossing Borders Music will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on June 14, July 12, and August 16. TAC’s galleries will also stay open late for after-hours viewing on those evenings.

The “Late Night at the Galleries” concert series is a part of TAC’s Arts in Action programming, sponsored by Jessica & Steve Sarowitz and the Wayfarer Theater. Through active promotion of diversity and inclusion in the arts, TAC seeks to include everyone in its ongoing mission to be the North Shore’s home for creative exploration.

June 14: Roots: Haitian String Trios

Hear string trios by Haitian composers “rooted” in the beauty of Haitian culture and its unique history, religion, and folk traditions! Music by Werner Jaegerhuber, Rudy Perrault, Sabrina C D Jean Louis, plus folk song arrangements by Julio Racine celebrate Haiti’s revolutionary freedom-seeking origins, its folk music, its unique religious traditions—and its connection to Chicago through Chicago’s founder, Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable!

July 12: Cambodian Music—The Living Tradition

The Crossing Borders Music String Quartet joins Nisa Pov, Resident Artist of the National Cambodian Heritage Museum and roneat ak (Cambodian xylophone) performer for an amazing night of new arrangements of Cambodian classics! The performance includes beautiful new arrangements made by Crossing Borders Music violinist Rasa Mahmoudian and

overseen by Pov for the Cambodian Day of Remembrance. Be one of the first people to ever hear this amazing fusion of Cambodian and European traditional instruments— live and in-person

August 16: Looking Back and Looking Forward: African American Composers

This program features music by Black American composers of yesterday and today, including “Five Folksongs in Counterpoint” by trailblazing, early 20th century Chicagoan Florence Price—plus a reading of new works by four youth composers from Chicago's West side! The program will also include "Rara" by Jean "Rudy" Perrault, "Forgotten Royalty" by Jessica T Carter, and "Stand Up (for Breonna Taylor)" by Jordyn Davis—all commissioned by Crossing Borders Music. Plus, hear a world premiere performance of the fun and expressive music of Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins arranged for string quartet by AJ Isaacson-Zvidzwa.

A group of North Shore Country Day School fifth graders competed in Invention Convention U.S. Nationals this week, unveiling a new creation that could help combat climate change.

Four North Shore Country Day fifth graders headed to the Invention Convention U.S. Nationals this week after finishing first in the fifth grade division and beating out 2,500 participants for the grand prize across all grades K-8 at the Chicago/Illinois Regional competition in April.

Sonam Kotte, of Winnetka, Tara Rai, of Winnetka, Anika Venu, of Glenview, and Ella Wilson, of Northbrook, rang the lower school bell on Wednesday to signify their promotion to middle school, then immediately jumped in their cars and headed to the competition at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

This year, Invention Convention was incorporated into the fifth graders’ technology class. Lower School Technology Teacher and STEAM Integrator Julie Tuten gave students a choice: They could either build smart houses or come up with an invention of their own.

The group of girls decided to invent a smart recycler.

Already passionate about the environment and inspired by the lower school recycling program that kicked off in the fall, the girls started doing some research and found out that 75 percent of all the trash that goes into landfills could be recycled. They also learned that in the United States, landfills are the No. 1 source of methane, a potent greenhouse

gas that contributes to climate change. They decided they wanted to invent something that would make it easier for people to recycle to reduce the impact of climate change.

The students used an artificial intelligence program called Teachable Machine and trained it to identify two different categories—trash and recycling—by showing it more than 500 images of each category using image recognition.

Then they wrote a computer program to control a motor that opens the lid to a trash can with two compartments. When a person walks up with something to discard, all they have to do is hold up their item in front of a Wi-Fi-connected webcam. If the item is identified as garbage, the program tells the motor to open the side of the can marked “trash,” but if it sees something that can be recycled, the side marked “recyclable” opens—thus taking the human guesswork out of what can and cannot be recycled. It is currently patent pending.

“These girls worked so well together as a team,” Tuten said. “Through all the iterations, even when things got really difficult, they never gave up or got discouraged. Everybody had their strengths that they brought to the table. They were always willing to come in for recess or after school and put in the hard work to complete an amazing end product.”

North Shore Country Day fifth graders Anika Venu, Tara Rai, Sonam Kotte, and Ella Wilson

The Art Center Highland Park is located at 1957 Sheridan Road in Highland Park. For more information, call 847-432-1888 or visit theartcenterhp.org. If you’re interested in sponsoring a “Late Night at the Galleries event” send an email to info@theartcenterhp.org.

BY REX REED ILLUSTRATION BY TOM BACHTELL

Famed film critic Rex Reed weighs in on Unidentified Objects and The Boogeyman

Endlessly searching for something that smacks of a trace of originality and almost never finding anything that even remotely applies, it's always a joy to come across a fresh idea. Such an occasion is an oddball curio called Unidentified Objects. This one is certainly different. That doesn't mean it's good. It's just different.

This strange but appealing film about an unlikely pair offers a unique blend of sexy surrealism and eccentric science-fiction fantasy.

RUNNING TIME: 1 hour, 40 minutes RATING: 2.5 stars

UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS THE BOOGEYMAN

A horror film inspired by a forgotten Stephen King short story is a waste of time, both for the creators and the audience.

It's about a gay dwarf named Peter and a lugubrious, talkative porno star named Winona who take a road trip to Canada in a big, ugly pink car to reunite her with a group of aliens who have promised to take her to another planet. Neighbors in a rundown apartment house in Los Angeles with nothing in common, she's tired of being a sex worker and he's unemployed and broke, so when she pesters him to provide wheels, he agrees for $1,700.

He thinks she's going to visit her sister, but what she doesn't tell him (at least not right away) is she's heading for an abduction site to meet up with some intergalactic freaks who travel on starlight and energy but need human DNA to reproduce. With her twangy nasal voice and his diminutive sourpuss cynicism, they make a formidable team. She never stops talking. He never stops reading Chekhov. The youngsters posing as critics today on the internet who have never seen a logical, wellmade film seem to love it. Saner, more mature viewers will undoubtedly demand more. Few

The Boogeyman, a pointless, misguided and totally incomprehensible waste of time, is yet another horror film that exists for the sole purpose of exploiting the endless desk-drawer doodlings of writer Stephen King. This one is based on a minor short story from the 1970s in which a sexy therapist (Chris Messina, famous for his many nude scenes in other films, including Digging For Fire and 28 Hotel Rooms) and his two daughters, already traumatized beyond control by the recent death of their mother in an unexplained car accident, are driven over the edge when the doctor is visited in his home office by a new patient suspected of murdering his own two children.

Before the shrink can complete an alert call to the police, the man hangs himself, leaving the girls terrified that there's a monster hiding in their closet. The rest of the movie is a collection of spooky sounds, creaking floors, imaginary heavy breathing, shadowy visions of things that go bump in the night, and other assorted cliches.

Inept director Rob Savage is more devoted to cataloguing as many contrived jump scares as possible than he is in explaining creepy phenomena or developing narrative logic. The result is a horror film that makes no sense, leaving out the two most important requisites of any successful monster movie—an intriguing

will deny it's a freaky rara avis unlike anything that's been seen before.

Since director Juan Felpe Zuleta and script writer Leland Frankel haven't bothered to provide a plot, the film depends on what the pair of misfits see and do on the road to fill out the running time. Unfortunately, their encounters are not very interesting.

He offers a few long-winded insights about literature, viciously comparing his idol Chekhov to Shakespeare and Tennessee Williams. She gets recognized by two punks in a gas station who are addicted to porn. He dances romantically in the arms of a handsome roughneck in a bar and gets dumped in the middle of a parking lot. Obsessed with astronomy, she names the constellations. Nothing new in any of it, but to my knowledge, it's the first time I've ever seen a totally naked dwarf play a full-frontal drunk scene totally naked.

When the aliens finally show up, they don't look like anything from E T. There's a long, lingering shot of a caterpillar crossing the road.

I've never seen or heard of any of the actors, but Matthew August Jeffers as Peter and Sarah Hay as Winona are both very good in a bizarre way that can only be described as perversely appealing. Partly sexy surrealism, part eccentric science-fiction fantasy, the same is true for Unidentified Objects

plot that gets you hooked and an "aha!" ending that leaves you satisfied—to make you feel you haven't been wasting your time on nonsense.

Every attempt to address the fears faced by the children in The Boogeyman invokes laughter instead of thrills. (Although one of his daughters is a pre-teen and the other is 8 years old, the clueless Dad chalks up their obsession with the idea of a monster in their closet is the result of "smoking too much weed".)

No effort is made to validate or examine the horrors that occur. Is the creature a ghost of the suicidal wacko patient who invaded their home for no reason, or the spirit of their dead mother? Either way, what does the monster want? How does it manage to appear in so many places at the same time? Is there more than one? How is it that people scream but nobody hears them?

The special effects don't raise a single goose bump, the acting is uniformly dreadful, and when the real monster finally shows up, it's the kind of fire-breathing freak with multiple tongues dripping blood that only the most committed, die-hard horror-flick fan would find scary. Extrapolating an experimental Stephen King discard into something substantial might have made a better comic book—or best of all, left alone entirely.

RUNNING TIME: 1 hour, 38 minutes RATING: 0 stars

This weekend’s curated luxury trends MATERIAL PURSUITS

THE NAVIGATOR

Whether you’re jetting off for an African safari or a sojourn on the Cote d’Azur, the Navigator sunglasses from Cartier’s Santos Evolution Collection are the epitome of adventure. Styled with a flat brow bar and platinumplated detailing, the metal sunglasses are finished with solid lenses and adjustable nose pads and offer 100 percent UV protection.

Made in France by Cartier, one of the most prestigious jewelry brands in the world, the Navigator features Santos temples combined with the emblematic lens shape (recalling the cut of the Santos watch case) and is finished in gold and platinum. The look is both bold and fearless; as iconic as the brand itself. Available at Blink Optical, 654 N. Bank Lane, in Lake Forest. Call 847-2346541 or visit blinkoptic.com.

TRAVEL LIKE 007

Are you ready to enter the world of James Bond? Black Tomato, an immersive luxury travel brand, has a Europe itinerary like no other—a curated 12-night tour of the continent that puts you in the path of 007 himself. Aptly dubbed “The Assignment,” the 007 Travel Adventure takes into the heart of Bond’s Europe, starting with a decadent jaunt in London (think private Range Rovers, Superhawk 34 sail on the Thames, martinis, and Bollinger champagne) before continuing to the spy’s favorite haunts in Paris, Monaco, Lake Como, and Venice. Not up for a 12-night job? You can also choose your own bespoke Bond journey from among Black Tomato’s other “rare and cinematic experiences.” The company has been selected by EON Productions, owners of the 007 franchise, to recreate Bond’s famous escapades for discerning travelers. The choice is yours. Are you ready? “The Assignment” tour starts at $80,000 per person; a la carte tours start at $18,000 per person. For more information, visit blacktomato.com.

WORLD’S MOST EXPENSIVE ICE CREAM

How much would you pay for some really, really good gelato? If your craving is the Japanese brand Cellato’s Byakuya flavor (which includes white truffles from Alba, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, a paste created during sake production, and edible gold leaf) it will set you back more than $6,600 per serving. Developed in alliance with a renowned fusion chef in Osaka, Japan, this pricey treat can be ordered online and comes with a metal spoon alleged to be handmade by Takeuchi craftsmen using materials from temple and shrine construction. Creating gelato using “nature’s ingredients,” the Cellato brand claims that its products “delight even your cells.” Order yours at cellato.tokyo.

EDITED BY JULIA PAULMAN ILLUSTRATION BY TOM BACHTELL

KATIE MANKOFF founded Mantra Matcha in 2021. She worked in the fitness industry for seven years and health was always a top priority. As a mom of three girls, she always had coffee on hand. Between work, parenting, and a lot of caffeine, she still found herself exhausted. One day she noticed someone drinking an eye-catching green drink, which turned out to be matcha. Matcha is a superfood powerhouse form of green tea loaded with nutrients, antioxidants, and a variety of health benefits. In fact, one cup of matcha is equivalent to 10 cups of traditional green tea. Plus, it’s known to have countless potential health benefits including restored vitality, increased metabolism, and an overall feeling of welbeing. It contains a naturally occurring amino acid called L-Theanine, which has a primary function of reducing stress and enhancing focus. It’s purely stressfree, positive energy. After discovering matcha green tea and its impressive list of benefits, Mankoff ditched coffee and hasn’t looked back since. The entire product line at Mantra Matcha is made from Super Premium Ceremonial Matcha (the highest grade matcha possible). And for those who don’t love the grassy taste of matcha itself, Mantra Matcha offers unique, small-batch blends such as Superfood Berry, Cinnamon Goji, Strawberry Lemon, and Banana Cacao— you've never tasted matcha like this before.

Follow @mantramatcha on Instagram and join in on Mankoff’s journey as a “momtrepreneur” building a business from the ground up.

#ON MY NIGHTSTAND

I am currently reading Verity by Colleen Hoover. Between running a business and raising three kids, I mostly read to relax and disconnect.

#ON MY MOBILE

I follow a variety of entrepreneurs and companies, mainly on Instagram. Social media is amazing for a behind-the-scenes look at how businesses operate, to see what’s working and what isn’t for other entrepreneurs, and staying on top of current trends.

#IN MY EARBUDS

I am currently listening to a ton of Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus songs on repeat as my kids recently got into them. Between car rides and the kids learning how to use Alexa at home, they have taken over as the DJs for the family.

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ART WORKS—AS A LANGUAGE

Highland Park’s Caren Miller has dedicated her life to teaching art and helping those with disabilities

BY BILL MCLEAN ILLUSTRATION BY BARRY BLITT

Caren Miller was only 8 when her beloved mother, Beezie, died at the age of 29.

But what the mother passed down to her daughter continues to impact lives positively decades later.

“My mother gave me the gift of art,” Miller, a lifelong art teacher who grew up in Skokie, says from her seat at Curt’s Café in Highland Park, her hometown since 1983. “We painted and drew together. We com municated and bonded through our art.

“What I learned at a young age, and what I still experience now, is that art is a fun way to use time with meaning. I’ve drawn for hours and sculpted for hours, sometimes becoming so immersed in what I was doing that I forgot I was hungry.”

An art teacher to “thousands” in her career, Miller has dedicated her life to nourishing those with intellectual and developmen tal disabilities by helping them express themselves through art. Among the other strengths on Miller’s crowded palette of gifts is the ability to figure out what people can do that they never thought they could do.

Miller, who taught art to at-risk youth and young adults at the North Shore Acad emy in Highland Park for 15 years, first met Josh Devires about seven years ago at Northbrook-based TotalLink2 Community, a nonprofit that helps individuals (age 18 or older) living with intellectual and develop mental disabilities. Devires, now 33, lives with autism.

Miller taught art to Devires and became a mentor to him as well.

“Art is a way for Josh to communicate with the world around him and elevate his selfesteem at the same time,” Miller, also known as “The Autism Whisperer,” says. “While Josh may process information and express himself differently than others, he has an unbelievable learning drive, and his artwork is full of an incredible amount of meaning.”

Devires is an artist, athlete, and musician. He also works at First Bank of Highland Park.

The mass shooting at the Independence Day parade in Highland Park last year devastated Devires, who, with guidance from Miller, turned to art to cope and heal.

“Josh did not know any of the victims, but he felt connected to all of them,” Miller says. “Together we made eight peace poles out of

got out that a plan was in place to dismiss all of the teachers at Niles North, Niles West, and Niles East (it closed in 1980) high schools.

“Contract negotiations had broken down, and the superintendent announced the district’s decision at an assembly,” Miller says. “I couldn’t believe it. I remember asking, ‘Who’s going to teach us?’ Senior class presi-

dents of the other schools were there, too. We got organized, and the schools staged a walk-out that lasted three days.

“Fortunately, a mediator was chosen and the schools ended up retaining all of the teachers,” she adds.

Miller attended Bradley University in Peoria and earned a degree in TV/Radio Broadcast Communications. Way up there

on her Bucket List is to write a sitcom pilot that gets a nod from a network.

On her 60th birthday not too long ago, Miller crossed off a Bucket List goal after performing a stand-up routine at a comedy bar in Chicago. She was the fourth entertainer on stage that night. Her gig lasted 22

“I killed it,” she recalls with a hearty laugh. “It helps to have a sense of humor as a teacher. Laughter can be instrumental in the classroom. So can being able to pivot

Caren got married to Brad Miller at the age of 22. They raised Erica, now 38, and Jonathon, 35. Caren Miller was miserable while working in marketing when Brad, out of the blue one day, told his wife, “I want to

Brad asked Caren to join him for an art class at the Jewish Community Center in

“That’s where I found my passion for art again,” Caren says. “And that was my hus-

Miller served as an art teacher at a number of places, in addition to the years (19982013) she spent inspiring grade-schoolers and young adults at the North Shore Academy. Miller taught at Hyde Park Day School and in the GADOL (Giving Adults Daily Opportunities for Living) program at Keshet, an organization in Northbrook for individu-

She also was an artist-in-residence at Evanston Township High School for several

“Art facilitates learning in the classroom,” says Miller, adding she once created a board game to assist her in teaching the American

She has also worked with a former Art Institute of Chicago instructor who has

“When she painted, it was like she was talking to me,” Miller says. “Art can be a wonderful way to express emotions for so many people.”

Mr. and Mrs. Miller have three grandchildren, with another on the way. Caren cherishes time with them and friends, as well as opportunities to walk when she’s not teaching in a classroom or in her basement studio.

“Sitting down with someone and talking about art over coffee, like we’re doing right now, I love this,” she says.

Beezie’s gifted daughter then beams.

hours, sometimes becoming so immersed in what I was doing that I forgot I was hungry.

From left: Ellen Chukerman, Lissa Bulis, Beth Alberts, Rebecca Gilberg and Mada Hitchmough

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