The Owl House (museum)

Helen Martins was a reclusive outsider artist who remains something of an enigma. Born on 23 December 1897 in Nieu-Bethesda, she was the youngest of six surviving children of Pieter Jakobus Martins and Hester Catharina Cornelia van der Merwe. == Schooling and early life ==

Helen was schooled in Graaf-Reinet and obtained a teaching diploma at the teachers college in Graaf-Reinet (now the police training college). In 1919, Helen Martins moved to the Transvaal where she began teaching. == Married life ==

On 7 January 1920, she married a colleague by the name of Willem Johannes Pienaar. The couple travelled around the country acting in theatre productions in the Transvaal, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. Their marriage was not a happy one, and Helen left her husband on several occasions. She eventually divorced Pienaar in 1926. Sometime around 1927 or 1928, Helen returned to Nieu-Bethesda, where she stayed for the next 31 years taking care of her elderly parents. Her mother Hester, with whom she reportedly had a close relationship, died of breast cancer in 1941. Her father has been variously described as "eccentric and demanding" and possibly abusive. He lived in an outside room, with a stove and a bed to sleep on. After her father died of stomach cancer in 1945, Helen bricked up the windows, painted his room black, and put a sign reading "The Lion's Den". When Martins was about 60, she married Mr. J. J. M. Niemand, a pensioner and furniture restorer in the village. The marriage lasted only three months. ==Construction==

Her parents left Helen the house. After their deaths Martins started to transform the house and the garden, spending years creating a visionary environment. Martins also used cement and wire, decorating the interior of her home and later building sculptures in her garden. Her partner and lover Johannes Hattingh constructed the first cement animals and build much of the early Owl House bestiary. Theirs was an intensely collaborative process, meeting daily to envision and create new works. Martins was inspired by Christian biblical texts, the poetry of Omar Khayyam, and various works by William Blake. There are also indications that her neighbours helped to care for Helen's father in his last years, and that they gave her food when she did not care for herself. Relationships between her and the community she lived in were clearly complicated and often difficult. ==Death==

Martin's longtime exposure to the fine crushed glass she used to decorate her walls and ceilings eventually caused her eyesight to start failing. This led her to attempt suicide by ingesting caustic soda on 6 August 1976 at the age of 78. She was found and taken to a hospital in Graaff-Reinet, where she died on 8 August 1976. ==Museum==

As per her wishes, the Owl House has been kept intact as a museum. In 1991, the Friends of The Owl House arranged for Koos Malgas to return to Nieu-Bethesda to care for the site. The Owl House Foundation, which was formed in 1996, now manages the site. and was opened as a museum in 1992. ==In popular culture==

Athol Fugard published a play based on Helen Martins in 1985 called The Road to Mecca, which was later made into a film of the same name. In 2015, a Marathi play Prawaas was produced by Abbhivyaktee theatre group from Panaji (Goa). Written and directed by Saish Deshpande, the play was influenced by Martin's story and Athol Fugard's play. In 2013, a radio drama - DRAADWERK by Daleen Kruger was released on Afrikaans radio service, RSG. ==Gallery==

Image:Owl house 2003 12.JPG|One of the interior rooms with crushed glass on the walls. Image:Owl house 2003 01.JPG|Sculptures in the garden, most are facing east. Image:Owl house 2003 17.JPG|Close-up of one of the sculptures. ==References==