Debbie Shiber
(parent)
"I am honored to contribute and welcome you all to this website to educate and celebrate one of the best nonprofit organizations in Delaware, Art Therapy Express, and its 22nd anniversary. More importantly, as Lisa would say, to celebrate our artists in the theme of You in Unity."
"Well I have to say As Haley’s Mom, Debbie, her father, Howard and her two sisters, Hope and Hilary we don’t know where we as the Shiber family would be at this stage of our lives surviving the pandemic, inclusion in the school system and caregiving if not for our Art Therapy Express family and its creators family, Lisa, Rich and Shayla Bartoli."
"ATE continues to practice caution for our artists. This is because of Lisa’s heart and protecting her ATE family. During the pandemic, the Art Therapy Express program never missed a beat! One day, our doors were closed physically, like most doors, and the next, we held classes on Zoom, never batting an eye or looking back. We just moved forward to protect all the artist’s bonds, their emotions, artistic creativity, with the overall goal of decreasing isolation during a horrific time, concentrating on joy, not sadness."
"Each week we have a purpose to see joy, not sorrow, happiness, not sadness, hopefulness, not despair, share our emotions, not bottle them up, plan for a day, not retreat, gather with friends, not isolate, social distance ourselves, or join in wearing a mask to protect the vulnerable."
"When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade! Each week, our cup overflows with the excitement of a new project to do collectively and separately. Our favorite part of the sessions was waiting to see how everyone else worked their masterpieces with the grand finale of a picture with celebratory applause and commentary."
"We were able to heal and mend our hearts during a time in history where it was most certainly needed from the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that the pandemic is over, we look forward to more exciting adventures because the sky is ATE’s only limit. The “Joy of Art” has and will always be at the forefront of ATE. Looking forward to more joy in the coming months and years."
