Helen S. lives in Hobart, Tasmania, where her days largely evolve around supporting her father who is approaching 103 years old. He leads an active life, she told us, “which requires a lot of support, organization, and help with various jobs” from Helen and her two sisters.
Helen’s father is Czech so she has had some connection with that part of the European world all her life.
When not doing what she can for her dad, Helen goes to yoga, attends regular art making sessions with a friend, goes to films and exhibitions, reads books, walks a lot, offers occasional counseling sessions that support a couple of friends who came to Australia as asylum seekers, and writes postcards to Defenders of Ukraine.
Helen recalls the news of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine as “shocking in some ways, but not in others as Putin is well known as a brutal, egotistical, power-hungry man who will stop at nothing to gain more territory and control more people. My friend who lives in Berlin, and who assists refugees from Ukraine, talks about how very worrying it is for her and all those who live so close to Russia and who have felt that threat all their lives.”
Postcards to the Front came to Helen’s attention via a news item not long after the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
“It seemed to me to be a small and personal way to support people actually fighting. I enjoy writing letters and feel sorry that [letter-writing] is less often employed. So, this is one way to keep the art alive in a way that is particularly beautiful, supporting those at the front. In my opinion, no text or email will ever match up to a handwritten letter or postcard. Handwriting is so recognizably matched to one person. No two people write in the same way, which I love!”
When choosing cards for Defenders, Helen tries to find ones that represent Tasmania in some way: “our beautiful animals and birds, amusing ones, if possible, or artistic ones. I have also gone through my own collection of prints to find ones which seem appropriate to use. On occasion I have cut up beautiful cards which have been given to me so they can be appreciated for a second time. My sister is also a printmaker and has sent me a collection of her cast off prints which I then pass on to Peter and Gabby at Postcards to the Front in Australia. They take them to community gatherings where they are popular. So, my sister is going to find out from her printmaking group whether they would like to send some of their castoffs too.”
Initially, Helen wrote little stories on her cards that relate to the animals featured in the card image.
“Soon, however, I realized it would be too hard for Defenders to read both my English and my small writing. Since then, I have chosen to practice Ukrainian on each card and then add a little bit in English as well.”
Helen imagines that each postcard that Defenders receive from afar, from someone who has sat down to make the time to write and support them, “would be very heart warming and encouraging. I feel that I am doing my little bit in trying to stop the war.”
“So far, this has been my own little project,” Helen shared, admitting that she has “mentioned it to others but no one has expressed interest in joining me for a writing session yet. I will continue with my little project until the war ends.”
When Helen receives the latest issue of the project newsletter, “it’s an excellent prompt for me to get going again and write some more cards. So … keep the newsletters flowing!”
“And Happy Postcard Writing everyone!”
Postcards to the Front (Canada / Канада) 
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