As a teen in post-war Germany,  Helga's accidental encounter with Franz Marc's "Red Horses" ignited a passion for vibrant, emotionally charged,  symbolic colors.  Just before emigrating to the US,  the gift of a good camera led to years of involvement with photography.  Another chance encounter introduced her as a young mother to ceramics,  which in turn motivated her to enroll in art school and to earn an MFA in ceramics from the University of Michigan.

After a long career in the arts,  both as a working potter,  teacher and arts administrator in Ann Arbor,  Michigan,  Helga relocated temporarily to California where she switched from claywork to painting as a result of a back injury.  In 1998 Helga and her husband retired to Taos.  Helga has always loved the colors and patterns of landscape,  from the verdant countryside of her native Germany and the farmland of Michigan to the more arid beauty of Southern California and New Mexico.  Her landscape paintings portray the order and colors of the farmland and open spaces of New Mexico,  and the relationship between people and the environment. Her works,  in rich pastels,  watercolors and mixed media, are spontaneous depictions of her Northern New Mexico neighborhood.  They reference nature without imitating it,  in a "painterly realism" style,  capturing a mood suggested by that famous Taos light.

Helga's work has been exhibited in juried shows in five states and has earned awards in both ceramics and painting.  She is represented locally by Las Comadres Gallery, 228A Paseo Pueblo, Taos.