Tippecanoe High School sophomore wins Shimmering Ruby Award

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Mary Waibel is a double athlete, a high school student, and an active member of Tippecanoe High School. All of these aspects share Waibel's time and force her to prioritize her mental health. When her art teacher, Mrs. Morgan, suggested that Mary submit a piece for GEM Project Dayton, she knew she wanted to create something that represented her own mental health journey, as well as spoke to her peers.  

Mary has always enjoyed creating. The Tippecanoe High School sophomore has fond memories of drawing, crafting, and spending time with her grandmother, who enjoyed art. Now, Waibel is constantly carrying around a sketchbook and jotting down doodles when she can.  

While carrying a sketchbook helps Mary express her creativity, she also carries the weight of tennis practices, cross-country meets, personal records, good grades, and a social life. All of the regular teenage activities can be overwhelming for any young adult, and Mary wanted to depict her coping mechanisms in a hopeful way for the GEM prompt, “Resilience.”  

After sifting through reference photos and brainstorming, Mary came across a picture of a girl covered in Band-Aids and decided to draw inspiration from the helpful stickers for her projects. Waibel remembers times when she was covered in Band-Aids from sports and needed their support to carry on playing and running.  

Through this connection, Mary decided to create a piece surrounding Band-Aids, but for mental health. The talented artist’s award-winning piece features a young woman, covered in a variety of colored Band-Aids, each with a healthy coping mechanism for battling mental health struggles. Mary says that she wants people to know, “There are so many options for support. You just have to find what works for you.” It was this unique and positive perspective that earned her both the award and a $250 prize.   

Mary Waibel expresses that she would like to pursue her artwork more after high school, and that she enjoyed the opportunity to create a prompt that was centered around a safe environment for mental health awareness. She also encourages other young artists to channel their feelings and get involved in the GEM project.