In January 2023, iconic German ski racer Rosi Mittermaier lost her battle with cancer at the age of 72. Ameli Neureuther (45), the daughter of Mittermaier and Christian Neureuther (77), speaks in a new interview about how she experienced the illness and what she promised her mom before saying goodbye.
"That was the hardest time of my life and probably the most intense," Neureuther says in conversation with the magazine "Gala." She further reports in the new issue that she was with her mother every day back then. The now 45-year-old suddenly became aware of "how precious every moment is." She was able to accompany her mom intensively until the end. "Suddenly all seemingly big problems dissolved, and only pure, unconditional love remained," she continues.
This promise Ameli Neureuther made to her mother
Just shortly before Rosi Mittermaier passed away, she said to her daughter: "Ameli, promise me that you'll show yourself." And she made that promise to her mother. After the death, she cleared out her dining room and turned it into a studio. She started painting again and within a few weeks created her series "Flying Seeds." It was a "path to healing and new strength" for Neureuther, as she explains. The loss of such a beloved person makes you realize "how precious time is."
From her mother she inherited her "positive attitude and her laughter." Neureuther struggled for a long time with whether she wanted to show her art publicly. "It was mainly the fear of judgment," she says. But she now hopes "that people feel courage and confidence in my colorful paintings." Strokes of fate and grief are part of life, but such times also carry "something magical within them" that moves you forward.
A seed "waiting to bloom"
On her homepage Neureuther explains that she sees her life's purpose in expressing herself creatively. It all began when she was just six years old. Her mother Rosi showed her a picture of the famous "Blue Horse" by Franz Marc (1880-1916) and placed a brush and a watercolor set next to it.
"My paintings are positive, meant to awaken joy of life and tell stories that inspire the viewer to reflect on their own life," Neureuther explains further on the website. "They are meant to encourage people to follow their own wishes, to come into their own power. Seeds slumber in each of us that only need to be watered to germinate."
The 45-year-old also writes about the promise there. "I wish, Ameli, that you paint again. Just start with it and show yourself," her mom had wished in their last conversations before her death. Painting was healing for Neureuther. "The series 'Flying Seeds' was created. Flying seeds that reproduce, multiply and thus form the eternal cycle of life. Colorful blossoms that give courage and provide comfort. In each of us there is such a seed waiting to bloom."
