A LETTER FROM REBECCA WEISS

My mother Helga passed away 16 August 2002.
I loved her very much, and miss her every day.
She was a wonderful mother and I was lucky to have her.

Helga came from a large and well known family, and was very close to her sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews. She also had many, many friends who loved her dearly.

Even when Helga's body was old she was a young person in spirit, alert and crystal clear at all times. She never had fixed ideas like many older people tend to get. She was open, tolerant, curious about everything, always willing to examine and re-examine ideas and situations.
In her 80s she was still thrilled to make new friends, and those who met her were amazed at her charisma and vitality. She was a spiritual person, convinced that we are all immortal beings who have lived before and will live again.

She fought like a lion for her goals, dreams and projects. She made posters and post cards for Amnesty, Children's Rights and Animal Rights, and supported political, cultural and religious organizations.

Helga worked in the arts all her life and was a great and unique artist. Her style was unmistakable, her images like no one elses, and she had a scope and versatility that few artists have. The poems are as beautiful and moving as the paintings.
Many of them have been published in books and magazines, and quoted in Swedish TV and radio, as well as in the Swedish Parliament. The message is always joyful, defiant and optimistic. Many people say her books and art has changed or saved their lives.

I intend to keep Helga's memory alive, to eventually republish and translate her books, and to reprint some of her posters and lithographs.

Rebecca