Catching Up - Kat & Laurie

Kat - Artist: Lydia Jechorek

Laurie - Artist: Bettsie Miller

Week 21 - Wanda "Jo Friday" Rottenfusser

Week 21. Friday, April 12, 2013.  Final Episode

A BOLO has been put out for Wanda “Jo Friday” Rottenfusser.  She has been charged with spreading falsehoods - tinkering with the facts to protect the guilty.  The truth might surprise you!  Here is the story.

It is early in the morning and cold in Calgary.  I am alone in my studio watching the sun turn the Rockies to rose.  My alias is Josephine Friday – my friends call me Jo, Jo Friday and I carry a paintbrush.  My assignment the last five months – infiltrate the Hilton Head group, gain their trust and expose their secrets to the world.  It was a tough job but someone had to do it.

Who are this sisterhood of felons?  Circumstantial evidence shows a large, loosely organized group centered in the United States but with connections in several other countries.  They appear to gather in different locations quite frequently to learn new skills from highly trained leaders, often returning again and again if the leader is particularly talented (e.g. Karin “Quickdraw” Jurick).  They are well versed in the digital age and are good at networking online as well as in person.  Their alleged crime is shooting individuals, animals, landscapes, flowers, etc. without warning and immortalizing them in paint.  They use knives, brushes and a wide variety of mediums.  Some do this for their own enjoyment and some extort money from the unsuspecting public in return for these “masterpieces”.   They exhibit a wide range of interests and skill levels but they all have one thing in common – PASSION!  It’s what separates champions from also-rans, the great from the merely good and this group has it in spades.

Happy painting everyone!

Artist: Wanda Rottenfusser

Artist: Kathleen Coy

Catching Up - Sandhya & Maria

Sandhya - Artist: Kathleen Coy

Maria - Artist: Kathleen Coy

Catching Up - Donna

Donna - Artist: Lydia Jechorek

Week 20 - Maria "The Enforcer" Bennett Hock

Just finished doing an internet search on Maria “The Enforcer” Bennett Hock and I am exhausted.  It appears this woman has done everything leading me to believe this is an extremely deep cover for a seriously nefarious felon.  She has stated “my days are filled with conceptualizing, defining and realizing concepts”.  This sounds more like a ringleader than an enforcer.

We know she spearheaded the original mug challenge of the 2011 Hilton Head Gang and instigated a similar exercise among the 2012 Hilton Head felons.  She is a member of the splinter group Hilton Head Four, The Sisterhood of the Travelling Paintbrush, and numerous art societies and organizations.  She often participates in challenges (30 in 30, 6 at 60, etc.) and workshops in North America and Europe.  She has published at least 2 books and has been heard on several episodes of blog talk radio.  We suspect that it is during these activities that she exchanges information with other felons, learning and developing more refined techniques for creating havoc. 

“The Enforcer” can often be seen skulking in art galleries dressed like a private eye (as camouflage this is not terribly successful), in the streets or on the beaches – shooting apparatus at the ready.  She is armed and dangerous and we believe her goal is to immortalize the world “in portraits that convey emotion”.  Please help put this woman in bars where she belongs [sorry, that should read behind bars].

Artist: Wanda Rottenfusser

Week 19 - Sandhya "Zentangle" Manne

Week 19.  Friday, March 29, 2013

Just when we thought the Hilton Head sisterhood couldn’t get any more diverse, a Far Eastern connection has been uncovered.  Sandhya “Zentangle” Manne has connections in the East (India) and the West (Dallas, Texas).  [Note – Last week we had Kat and Dogs, this week Indian and Cowboys – this group is definitely multi-dimensional.]

“Zentangle” is, as you would expect, a certified Zentangle teacher.  This means she teaches the making of ‘beautiful images by drawing structured patterns … which are elegant metaphors for deliberate artistry in life’.  This sounds very harmless but do not be fooled – this woman is a marketing guru.  She has put her M. Comm. to good use in exploiting the online marketing universe.  A quick internet search shows she has a website, blog, facebook page, a presence on pinterest, linkedin, etsy, twitter, meetup, as well as Daily Paint Works, and Fine Art America.  One can only speculate at what would turn up with an in-depth search. 

Circumstantial evidence shows that this approach is working.  She seems to be adept at extracting funds from the unsuspecting public in return for zen-like images that “evoke calm, peaceful, spiritual and happy emotions”.  She must be stopped before we become too relaxed to care.  

Artist: Wanda Rottenfusser