Art for a cause
Paintings reflect lives of clients

By Kelsey VanArsdall
Reporter

Susanne Riehle has combined her passion for art with her passion for helping children.

The local artist has spent about a year creating a series of five oil paintings representing children's struggles.

With the help of the Columbus Museum of Art and Design, the local artist's work will be auctioned in September to benefit Advocates for Children and the museum.

Advocates for Children is a volunteer-based organization that represents minors in domestic court cases.

The funds from the auction will be split 50/50.

"We love this collaboration with the museum," said Kathleen Sheehy, development specialist for Advocates for Children.

"Most people would think it an usual partnership, but (Riehle's) art is another way to convey the message."

Model to masterpiece

As a yearlong Advocates for Children board member, Riehle is modeling her works after real-life experiences.

Each painting borrows from famous works of Michelangelo, Rembrandt and Vermeer.

The first portrait shows a teenage boy, crafted in the likeness of Michelangelo's "David," standing alone outside a courtroom in Bartholomew County Courthouse.

"This depicts the children's struggle with the court systems," said Riehle, surveying her work.

"It also shows that (Advocates for Children) doesn't just work with infants and young children. We represent a lot of teens caught between the system, too."

The second painting depicts a 10-year-old girl and her infant brother waiting silently in a courtroom. Two white doves perched on the window sill symbolize hope for the siblings. Riehle used the darkened courtroom bench to evoke pity for the children's situations.

"This happens all the time," she said.

"An older child is caring for their younger sibling, and their fear is that the courts will separate them and they'll nev