by Diana Studer
- gardening for biodiversity
This is NOT about owls as birds.
It IS about the life and art work of Helen Martins, and Koos Malgas. We were
heading for Addo
in March 2010. The Ungardener loves game watching. 'Hunting' for elephants.
We went via the Owl
House, which has been on my See Before I Die list for years.
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| On the Owl Route to Nieu Bethesda and the Owl House |
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| Nelspoort to Murraysburg |
Helen Martins
was from the story-book town of Nieu Bethesda in the
Great Karoo, in the Eastern Cape. She was born in 1897. To put it into my
own context, Helen was contemporary with my grandmother. Or since I was a laatlammetjie and
my father turned fifty when I was only six months old - my great-grandmother. Look back thru your own family history
and imagine an intelligent, creative, eccentric young woman. Growing up in an isolated,
conservative, small country town. Even today, it is more a village than a town
(Nieu Bethesda has no petrol, bank or
credit card facilities. Fill up your tank and your wallet before you arrive!)
Perhaps you don't have to imagine, perhaps there was a legendary Great Aunt
Rose in Rome in your father's family.
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| Old car parked opposite the church Lights on? |
She was married briefly, twice.
But as the youngest of six, and single, she was 'recalled' to care for her
dying mother, then her father. Imagine, having known a different life, how
strange, how claustrophobic small town life can be, if you don't fit in.
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| Pair of owls at the Owl House |
Helen turned to light and colour.
Her artwork is famous. She has inspired dissertations and books and pilgrimages
like mine. Her creation fuels tourism to Nieu Bethesda. Give yourself the
leisure to immerse yourself in her world, both the art in her home, and the
enchanting town itself.
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| Acrobat in blue and silver at the Owl House |
Imagine mythical, slightly
menacing creatures. Ethereally perfect young girls. A
step-thru-a-stitch-in-time experience. It is moving - the vibrancy of creation,
held within deep sorrow. The sculptures are made of concrete. To achieve the
light and colour, she collected old glass. Ran it thru a coffee mill. Sorted
the result by colour and size. Those neatly arranged rows of jars in her
pantry. Contain the proverbial ground glass - waiting patiently for
the next project, which will, never come.
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| Coffee mill and glass bottles waiting at the Owl House |
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| In the pantry rows of colourful jars. Filled with ground glass! Not jam. |
In 1976, when her eyes began to
fail, and her life's work was complete, she took her own life.
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| Those flames that blaze at the kitchen hearth are ground glass applied in shimmering layers to the window glass |
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| Look with me at the Owl House |
In the Old South Africa, Helen Martins was The Artist Full Stop. In the New South Africa, she worked with Koos Malgas ... (coming in August when I'll add the LINK).
of Elephant's Eye on False Bay
(If you mouse over teal blue text, it turns seaweed red.
Those are my links.
To read or leave comments, either click the word Comments below,
or click this post's title)
