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Tag: Nieu-Bethesda

17 July 2013

The Owl House: an unusual artistic vision of a personal Mecca

Original entrance to Owl House Nieu-Bethesda Great Karoo South Africa

Original entrance

I’d read about the Owl House online so it was on my South Africa list but probably would have missed it had there not been a sign for fossils causing a side trip to Nieu-Bethesda. After a stop at Ganora where the owners JP and Hester weren’t home, Joan and I continued down the dusty road to town and the Owl House.

Owl House Nieu-Bethesda Great Karoo South Africa

Entered the nondescript looking home into the reception area, a converted bedroom with all walls painted black, paid fee, and then watched a video about Helen and the Owl House.

Helen Martin from pbs

Who was Helen Martins

Helen Martins was born December 23, 1897 in the small Karoo Community of Nieu-Bethesda. She earned a teaching diploma in Graaff-Reinet in 1919 and a year later married a fellow teacher who also worked as a dramatist so they traveled together appearing in theatrical productions in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. They divorced in 1926 and two years later Helen returned to Nieu-Bethesda to care for her ailing parents for the next 17 years. She then became increasingly reclusive and isolated from the local community who thought of “Miss Helen” as a strange and rather outlandish character.

Owl House Nieu-Bethesda Great Karoo South Africa

A woman with a vision or Bizarre Art

In a state of depression, Helen began to transform her home into a vision of light and color. She hired local workmen to make modifications like replacing original windows with vast panes of glass.

Crushed glass in paint on walls Owl House Nieu-Bethesda Great Karoo South Africa

Then she began covering every interior surface with bright paint mixed with colored ground glass. I liked the textured affect but was careful not to brush against the walls.

Owl House Nieu-Bethesda Great Karoo South Africa

I really liked the mirrors hung to reflect external light from room to room.

Owl House Nieu-Bethesda Great Karoo South Africa

The many lanterns and candles Helen collected took three hours to light and were arranged to bounce light onto the mirrors. I would have liked this lady with the artistic mind.

Owl House Nieu-Bethesda Great Karoo South Africa

Koos Malgas the builder

Next she tackled the yard and with the help of Koos Malgas, a local sheepshearer and builder, began her vision of Mecca. Mixing ground glass with cement Malgas turned Helen’s dreams into reality.

Owl House Nieu-Bethesda Great Karoo South Africa

Owl House Nieu-Bethesda Great Karoo South Africa

There are over 300 sculptures and in the Camel Yard many of the wise men and camels face east, towards a Mecca of sorts. Predominant themes are the nativity, a curious mélange of Christian and Eastern philosophies (particularly the Bible and the writings of Omar Khayyam), as well as a large number of owls. Helen Martins was especially fond of owls and considering them a kind of totem animal.

Owl House Nieu-Bethesda Great Karoo South Africa

Owl House Nieu-Bethesda Great Karoo South Africa

Malgas converted Helen’s initial ideas, into actual three-dimensional sculptures in the garden. They worked together over the course of twelve years. Every sculpture would be discussed beforehand.

Owl House Nieu-Bethesda Great Karoo South Africa

She wanted to build a Mecca before she died. Some of it was built with soda and wine bottles held together with cement. In the camel yard hangs the sign: “This is my world”.

Owl House Nieu-Bethesda Great Karoo South Africa

The Owl House, then and now

Shortly before she turned 79, Helen Martins ended her life by drinking caustic soda. Her eyesight was failing so she could no longer enjoy the light and color surrounding her.

Owl House Nieu-Bethesda Great Karoo South Africa

After her death, The Owl House fell into decline. Ownership was transferred to the Local Council and financial help was garnered through the Friends of The Owl House and PPC Cement. In 1991, Friends of The Owl House brought Koos Malgas back to Nieu-Bethesda to restore and care for The Camel Yard. The Owl House Foundation was formed in 1996. Today The Foundation, together with the Local Council, administer Martins’ legacy. It had been Helen Martins’ greatest wish that the Owl House and Camel Yard be preserved as a museum. Malgas died in 2000.

map of Nieu-Bethesda from their site

The Owl House is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the December School holidays and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily for the rest of the year. An entry fee is charged. The Owl House and The Camel Yard are visited by over 130,000 people annually.

Nieu-Bethesda has no petrol, bank or credit card facilities. Kitching Fossil Centre, accommodations, food and crafts are available in this rural little community.

Owl House Nieu-Bethesda Great Karoo South Africa

Helen Elizabeth Martins (‘Miss Helen’) is considered South Africa’s foremost Outsider Artist. Outsider Art was first recognized by the French artist Jean Dubuffet, who coined the term ‘Art Brut’, or Raw Art, and described it as “fantastic, raw, visionary art created by individuals often maladjusted, with no art training, who work outside the mainstream of the art world.”

The Owl House proved to be an interesting highlight on our side trip to Nieu-Bethesda showing an incredible creativity, though a little bizarre and eerie too.

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South Africa art, Nieu-Bethesda, Owl House 27 Comments
26 June 2013

Side trip to Nieu-Bethesda

Sometimes taking a detour along the way leads to special unplanned experiences like this side trip to Nieu-Bethesda.

Sunrise N1 Free State South Africa

After the worst night ever at a poor excuse for a Caravan Park in Bloomfontein we cut out at the break of dawn for the 265 mile (425 km) drive to Camdeboo National Park near Graaff-Rienet.

Traveling for seemingly endless miles on the N1 through the flat, rolling grassland and crop fields of the Free State brought us into the Great Karoo’s semi-desert. Summers can be a bit warm through these open landscapes offering very little shade.

View from Nieu-Bethesda Road Great Karoo South Africa

When Joan saw a sign for fossils she knew I’d be interested. So we took a side trip on a gravel road 15 miles (23 km) towards Nieu-Bethesda. Turned out this also took us to Owl House which I had read about and wanted to see.

Blue cranes along Nieu-Bethesda Road Great Karoo South Africa

Joan got really excited about seeing the Blue Cranes, the national bird of South Africa. Usually found in dry grasslands the population is in decline due to poisoning, habitat alteration, and power line collisions. All cranes engage in dancing, which includes various behaviors such as bowing, jumping, running, stick or grass tossing, and wing flapping. These unfortunately seemed too busy eating to dance.

Green Milkweed Locust along Nieu-Bethesda Road Great Karoo South Africa

Plus HUGE grasshoppers, 3 inches (7 cm) mind you, stopped us to investigate what was crawling on the milkweed. Joan posted about these Green Milkweed Locust as part of her South African biological data base.

Seekoel River crossing on Nieu-Bethesda Road Great Karoo South Africa

This semi-desert environment with very little running water still displays a scattering of brilliant flowers.

Candleabra lily, Gazania, Morning Glory and Snake Aloe along Nieu-Bethesda Road Great Karoo South Africa

The Candelabra lily is appropriately named and stands out against the land growing 16-20 inches (40-50 cm) across. I actually recognized a couple plants like the wild Gazania and Morning Glories. And this Snake Aloe almost looks like a rising cobra. Thank goodness we didn’t see snakes.

fossil_museum_1 from Ganora website

The owners of Ganora fossil site were in town when we stopped but would be back in an hour so we continued on to the Owl House and then returned. While Joan went in search of bugs I toured JP’s collection of fossils in awe and totally forgot to take photos. The fossils are on average about 280 million years old, a time when mammal-like-reptiles roamed the earth, pre-dinosaur time.

Longhorn beetleat JP's Ganora sheep ranch Nieu-Bethesda Great Karoo South Africa

JP brought out a longhorn beetle he’d caught in a jar the night before and Joan identified it for him.  She really knows her bugs.

Dam at Ganora Guestfarm Nieu-Bethesda Road Great Karoo South Africa

Ganora Guestfarm is a working sheep ranch offering a variety of overnight accommodations and soon a camp area. I really want to return, camp, visit Bushman rock art, and go fossil hunting with JP.

Nice way to spend an afternoon taking this side trip to Nieu-Bethesda. Have you taken a detour lately?

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Hi, I’m Gaelyn, the Geogypsy

I retired after 29 summer seasons as a Park Ranger, traveling solo for 40+ years. My passions include travel, connecting to nature, photography, and sharing stories.

I started exploring US National Parks in 1977 and 20 years later became a seasonal Park Ranger.  I’ve lived full-time in a RV for 30 years working summers and playing winters.  I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow old, other than grow up.

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