How Artwork and Compassion Formed a 4-Decade Profession. Marybeth Lebo didn’t simply train artwork—she constructed a life round it.
With over 40 years in training and remedy, she has led a quiet however highly effective revolution in how creativity helps psychological well being, self-expression, and private progress. Because the Division Head and Artwork Therapist at LaPorte Group Faculty Company in Indiana, Marybeth has formed each younger minds and full faculty packages.
“I at all times knew artwork may do greater than enhance a wall,” she says. “It could possibly unlock an individual’s internal life.”
Let’s discover how she bought right here—and why her method is influencing artwork training and remedy alike.
What Impressed Marybeth Lebo to Train Artwork?
Marybeth grew up in La Grange, Illinois. Her early love for drawing and self-reflection led her to pursue artwork critically in faculty. She earned her bachelor’s diploma from Northern Illinois College and later accomplished two grasp’s levels—one from Indiana College and one other from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Faculty.
Her tutorial basis mixed visible arts with psychology. That twin focus led her to a profession that merged inventive training with therapeutic.
“I didn’t got down to be each a instructor and a therapist,” Marybeth says. “However college students don’t come to class as simply artists. They arrive as complete individuals. I couldn’t separate the 2.”
How She Constructed a High Artwork Program at LaPorte Excessive Faculty
Marybeth started instructing at LaPorte Excessive Faculty a long time in the past. She shortly grew to become extra than simply one other artwork instructor. Over time, she helped flip the college’s artwork division right into a revered and worthwhile program.
“We created one thing particular,” she explains. “It wasn’t about fancy instruments or huge budgets. It was about constructing confidence and curiosity.”
She guided college students to find their distinctive voices and creative skills. Many went on to pursue careers in artwork, design, or remedy.
She additionally coached different academics, developed curriculum, and made certain college students noticed their work valued. Her classroom grew to become a mannequin of what fashionable artwork training may very well be—targeted, reflective, and welcoming.
How Marybeth Makes use of Artwork Remedy to Heal and Join
Marybeth can also be a skilled and working towards artwork therapist. She accomplished a counseling internship inside her faculty system and has labored with youngsters, seniors, and adults dealing with emotional and psychological challenges.
“Artwork remedy isn’t about making one thing stunning,” she explains. “It’s about making one thing trustworthy.”
One among her most impactful moments got here throughout a session with a younger scholar who had been battling nervousness. The scholar wouldn’t communicate a lot however discovered launch in a quiet drawing train.
“He handed me the sketch, and it was filled with storm clouds and tangled wires,” she remembers. “We didn’t want phrases to grasp what he was going by.”
Her remedy classes are sometimes calm, quiet areas the place individuals can course of with out stress. Her packages deal with emotional therapeutic by easy instruments: paint, pencil, and paper.
What Makes Marybeth’s Method to Management Distinctive?
Marybeth isn’t loud or flashy. However she leads with intention.
Her management fashion is rooted in statement and empathy. She has a fame for noticing the small issues—when a scholar wants area, when a colleague is overwhelmed, when a program wants change.
“I feel management is about paying consideration,” she says. “Noticing what others miss and doing one thing about it.”
She’s helped her division develop not simply in measurement, however in that means. Below her management, the artwork program has turn out to be a protected haven for college kids. It additionally serves as a real-world instance of how creativity and care can enhance faculty tradition.
How Her Private Life Helps Her Skilled Mission
Exterior the classroom, Marybeth lives what she teaches.
Her hobbies—meditation, gardening, and self-care—mirror her classroom values. She believes creativity isn’t only a talent—it’s a way of life. One which encourages mindfulness, reflection, and progress.
“My backyard teaches me the identical classes I train my college students,” she says. “Be affected person. Give issues time. Make area for magnificence.”
These practices assist her preserve the vitality and focus required for her twin roles in training and remedy.
Why Marybeth Lebo’s Legacy Issues Immediately
In a time when training usually focuses on take a look at scores and inflexible buildings, Marybeth’s profession affords one other mannequin. One the place the emotional lives of scholars are simply as vital as their grades.
She’s proven that mixing artwork and remedy isn’t simply potential—it’s obligatory.
“Individuals want locations the place they are often actual,” she says. “Artwork provides them that.”
Her story is a reminder that management may be soft-spoken, that success may be constructed quietly, and that true affect usually comes from those that deal with serving to others develop.
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