A young girl is using her artistic skills to work through her challenges while simultaneously bringing flair to downtown Suffolk.

Katelin Boyce, a sixth-grade special education student at John Yeates Middle School, had several of her art pieces put on display during the soft opening of This & That at 149 N. Main St. on Saturday.

The art store is part of the effort to promote, support and foster Suffolk artists by the SPARC Initiative. The store will officially open on Feb. 3, according to SPARC volunteer Tracie Felgentreu.

SPARC stands for “Suffolk’s Prime Arts, Retail and Culinary” and was created by Ed Beardsley, owner of the Plaid Turnip restaurant. Along with leasing 147 and 149 N. Main St., Beardsley leased studio space to open OnePast7 at 100 N. Main St.

Katelin’s mother, Angela Bruzzese-Boyce, arranged to have her daughter’s art put on display through Beardsley and Felgentreu. The 12-year-old’s artwork vividly expresses her feelings in ways she normally can’t, Felgentreu said.

“She puts her heart into it, and you can tell she expresses her own personal endeavor with her disabilities,” she said.

Katelin has autism, and information about her condition is right beside her art pieces to enlighten visitors.

She also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder due to a series of tragedies in her family, having lost a father and two siblings in less than two years. Her brother William, 6, passed away on Sept. 16, 2012. Her father Craig Boyle, 41, died on May 3, 2014, and her sister Jessica, 11, passed away on May 8, 2014.

Bruzzese-Boyce is a photographer and has several of her photos on display at This & That as well. She said art helps her daughter focus and center herself.

“If she’s having a rough day or something of that nature, it helps her center, focus and relax,” she said.

Katelin draws every day, even when she’s watching her favorite shows like “PAW Patrol.” She draws anything she sees and whatever comes to her mind.

Sometimes it will be a leaf or a green-shaded, four-leaf clover. Other times it’s something more personal, like a pink heart wrapped in words of love and acceptance.

Bruzzese-Boyce said her daughter enjoys regular art classes at John Yeates Middle School.

“It gives her confidence,” she said. “It gives her something that she’s good at and that she’s able to be proud of.”