Helle studied art and German at Indiana University in Bloomington where she received a Bachelor of Arts. Graduate study of German, Middlebury College in Vermont (M.A.) and of art at Indiana University and at University of Cincinnati.

She started as a figurative and representational artist (painter) but has become more and more interested in expressing her art in abstract or semi-abstract forms. Most of her paintings are untitled, not wanting to influence the viewer's observations or feelings while viewing her art.