Posted on August 13, 2025
Art heist threatened to derail the show!
The 12-year relationship between Penn-Mar Human Services and the Hereford Branch of the Baltimore County Public Library in Maryland has benefited both the people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) that Penn-Mar supports and the local community who take advantage of the library’s programs and services.
The library hosts an annual art exhibit featuring original works created by people supported at Penn-Mar. It showcases two collaborative works in addition to a broader focus on personal pieces.
But the August 1 opening was nearly derailed by an eleventh-hour “art heist” that warranted help from local law enforcement and two determined bloodhounds. More about that later…
Under the guidance of Penn-Mar Senior DSP Rebecca “Becca” Lee, seven Penn-Mar Central Day Program artists spent nearly six months getting ready for the exhibit, researching images for inspiration, discussing color theory, line, texture, and pattern, and exploring a diverse range of media to create artwork related to their personal interests.
For these personal pieces, the artists used mostly acrylic and watercolor paints, colored pencils, and Posca Markers.
Artist Holly Burkholder decided to paint her two pets, Ginger and Snowball. Another dog lover, Mary Kidwell, depicted a dalmatian and gave special attention to her blending technique.
An avid jet skier at his parents’ home in Maryland, David Lindauer recreated his favorite pastime in his artwork, which showed a helmeted rider skimming the water.
Mark Ruppersberger’s whimsical coocoo bird painting reminded him of his roommate.
Morgan Schultz, whose parents work at First Fruits Farm where Penn-Mar volunteers are actively engaged, recreated a pastoral scene with a Highland cow.
Michael Litrenta drew inspiration from his penny collection, researching their intricate design and painting a close-up version with bright colors.
Joe Ginter, who Becca notes is a truly exceptional artist, created two incredible out-of-the-box pieces. One resembles an optical illusion with the words ‘EAT, SLEEP, RAVE, REPEAT,’ a testament to his love of rave dance parties with DJs playing electronic music. His other masterpiece featured an intricate steam punk Wizard of Oz created with Chat GPT and colorized with acrylic paint and Posca Markers.
In addition to these personal creations were two collaborative exhibits that involved the skills of about 20 different artists working together for over a year. “I wanted as many people to have their hands in it as possible,” Becca said.
The first, “Enchanted Forest,” details a fairytale-like mythological scene filled with vibrant flowers, mushrooms, trees, and a flowing stream. The colors and subject matter were created to make the viewer feel dreamy and magical.
“Graffiti Mickey” was an impromptu painting featuring Mickey Mouse, created to get noticed. And did it ever!
Jennifer Hisey, Penn-Mar’s Community Supports Day Program Manager at Central, came up with the idea of an art heist that would challenge Day Program participants to solve the mystery using fingerprinting, law enforcement, and video footage to catch the culprit.
When “Graffiti Mickey” somehow vanished shortly after it was completed, Becca called in her cousin, a police officer in York, to show the group how to conduct a proper investigation. Adding more fire power to the search were two bloodhounds brought in to sniff out the perpetrator. Then, video footage was released, showing someone wearing a hoodie taking the painting off the wall and running for the exits. Even Becca, the art lover that she is, was questioned as a possible suspect!
“Needless to say, I have the least monotonous job you can imagine,” Becca said. “’Graffiti Mickey’ was one of the more fun projects I’ve been involved with and the excitement around its disappearance was highly unexpected.“
The investigation eventually led the artists to Kelly Gillispie, administrative assistant at Penn-Mar’s Central location, who had stored Mickey in a closet for safekeeping before it was ready to be hung. Fortunately, the mystery was solved just in time for the painting to be included in the exhibition. You can see it for yourself at the Hereford Library through August 31.
