I have posted in the past links to my Great Aunt Helene's website with her artwork, and posts about what she means to me.
Well this morning at 2:00 am, she passed away.
I'm having a really rough time with this loss, and I could the collective community of TE's shoulders right now.
I feel so blessed to have had such a talented, generous, and loving person to call "Aunt".
She was my Grandpa's sister, and us Grandkids always looked up to her. To us she was a famous artist.
She introduced me to ballet.
We grew up on a ranch, but she encouraged me to step out into the world and explore all that there is to explore. Most especially the arts.
She was so proud of the fact that running son was interested in art. He LOVED to draw when he was young, and she encouraged me to let him explore the world of art.
Helene marveled at the colors in the environment, and loved to paint the desert. She came out here a few years ago and painted the wild flowers that grow in the desert in the spring after a rainy winter. I remember meeting her for lunch, and will always treasure that memory.
Her resolve and spirit was an inspiration to all who met her. When parkinsons took the use of her right hand, she started painting with her left. When cancer took her left hand, she started using her mouth.
She painted daily, and she always believed that her painting was what gave her life. So she found a way to keep at it, because she loved being alive. She loved life.
I will miss her more than you know. But I'll always have the many paintings that she gave me on my walls.

Please take a moment (well 10 ) and watch the bio video that was done on her recently. I think it explains why I am having a hard time with this. She was a treasure.
Thanks for your shoulders. I feel you lifting me up, and I appreciate it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc3RemJPkEU

www.heleneminelliart.com