An "Arty" Roadtrip

During October, Marion (my best friend of 18 years) and I, planned our own "Thelma and Louise" roadtrip down to Cape Town. We aimed to attend the opening of the MASA (Mosaic Association South Africa) exhibition, but took the long way round, wandering down the East Coast visiting my mosaic friends along the way.

It definitely was not planned that way, but the trip evolved into a discovery of art in its various forms. I admit to knowing nothing about "Art", am not an afficiado in any way, cannot understand the concept and rely on the most wonderful cop-out of all - "I know what I like" - which kinda confirms that I am seriously an art pleb! However, nothing prepared us for the most haunting place we have ever visited.

The MASA Community Service Project for 2012 - Mosaic with Heart, called for members to create a 20x20cm mosaic with a heart somewhere in the design. This was in aid of Homes/Shelters for Abused Women/Children and meant to let the residents know that we cared. Our East London Region created a panel featuring 24 panels, individually made by different members to create the most amazing montage.

MASA East London: Mosaic with Heart Panel

After leaving East London we visited the Sculpture Garden of renowned SA artist, Maureen Quinn, in Alexandria. Definitely worth the visit, the sculptures in the garden are absolutely astoundingly beautiful. There was one particular piece that had me completely enthralled! And no, it is not an optical illusion:)

Sculpture by Maureen Quinn

The MASA Mosaic Exhibition was extremely well attended and received many positive comments. Relative newcomer to mosaic but an artist of many years, won the Best on Show Award with her mosaic painting with stained glass. The Douglas Jones Collection Prize was awarded for the mosaic which used at least 85% of their mosaic products.

BEST ON SHOW: "Nature's Bounty" by Daleen Edgar

DOUGLAS JONES COLLECTION: "Intombi" by Vera Giovitto

After leaving Cape Town we made a little detour on our way home to drive through Graaf Reinette and took the N9 to Middelberg till we found the road leading to Nieu Bethesda. We landed ourselves in a pickle when we had to scrounge for money to pay for our tea and cake at a local restaurant/general store! The town is so small it does not have an ATM and none of the businesses have card machines because the volume of business does not warrant the expense!

Inside the Owl House

 This tiny little village with its dirt roads is the home of the Owl House, created by artist Helen Martins. It was her home after her parents died and she became obsessed with light and colour - painting her house inside with the brightest colour paints and then applying glass pieces to the ceiling and walls.

The bottles filled with glass in the pantry

 The shelves of the pantry inside the house are devoted to rows of jars of crushed glass - meticulously graded according to size and colour. It is this glass that has been applied to boldly patterned paint surfaces on the walls, ceilings, windows and other surfaces. The interplay of light and colour are the essence of this elaborate scheme of interior decorations. This is amplified by the myriad lamps, candles and specially shaped mirrors.

Hostesses, elegantly dressed in elaborately tiered bottle dresses welcome visitors .....

This was the home and birthplace, in 1898, of Helen Martins. In her fifties, after the death of her parents, she embarked with single minded determination on the transformation of this modest Karoo dwelling. Drawing inspiration from meagre resources and using the most basic materials, her remarkable undertaking took over twenty-five years to complete. Then, suffering from crippling arthritis and failing eyesight - and considering her work almost concluded - she took her own life in 1976.

The Owl House - a Souvenir Guide

 

The Camel Yard

I have often heard of the Owl House and both Marion and I decided that it was a definite item on our bucket list. What neither of us was prepared for was the huge pathos of the place. Just about the entire garden is filled with sculptures of characters, both biblical and mythical, and is so cluttered that individual pieces are often overlooked.

There is plenty of information on the internet about Helen Martins and her Owl House, so I am not going to go into great detail about her life and work - leaving it up to you to discover her magic in your own way. But this is more about my personal impressions of her work and as a mosaicist, I was touched by a number of aspects. In the pantry for example, are rows and rows of ground up glass in different colours, stored in can fruit jars and sorted by shade for easy application, I would think.

Helen Martins, her work misunderstood and by then a recluse, believed her life's work was almost done and in poor health and failing eyesight, committed suicide in 1976 by drinking caustic soda. Seeing her world and characters she created, I understand only a small part of what must have been going through her mind. I am not an art critic and cannot comment on her style and application, or the artistic value of her efforts. I can only admit to being deeply moved by seeing what she created. Strangely, many, if not most of the sculptures, have arms reaching out for something (or someone)  and appear to be beseeching, yearning or trying to grasp something just out of reach, and I wondered what was behind this very sad gesture.

Having read somewhere that she was largely shunned by the community, I could imagine that in her loneliness she created her own world filled with interesting people, all with their own story to tell. She did however, poke some fun and I would think chuckled at the idiosyncrasies of the locals. "When not attending to the smug and fatuous gentlemen in the "corner of debauchery" ... Or perhaps there is a more stinging barb intended?



If by some small miracle I could go back to 7th August 1976, and visit with her for a while I would tell her that she should not despair - that her home will be turned into a mecca for artists from all over the world; that people would write books about her amazing home and her creations; that the biggest cement company in South Africa would support efforts to retain her home exactly the way she left it; that her home would be the sole reason people drove to Nieu Bethesda and that most importantly, she will not be forgotten.


We left Nieu Bethesda rather subdued and drove to Bloemfontein where we spent the last night of our walkabout. The next morning really, really early we left for Gauteng and home! But somehow I don't think that the funny little house in a tiny little village in the middle of nowhere will easily be forgotten.

And no, we never did find Brad Pitt:(