The Shepherd boy - Helen Martins, Nieu Bethesda, The Owl House. (23 December 1897 - 8 August 1976) en.wikipedia.org/...

HELEN MARTINS (1897-1976) | THE OWL HOUSE | South Africa | Known to the residents of Nieu-Bethesda as 'Miss Helen' and thought of as a strange and rather outlandish character, she shied away from general contact, and began transforming her house and garden. Despite crippling arthritis, and the amputation of her small toes which left her unable to wear anything but slip-ons on her feet, Martins decorated her home with 'glass and light'.

“On a cold winters' morning in 1976, at the age of seventy-eight, Helen Martins took her own life by swallowing caustic soda.” (From the biography of Helen Martins on the official Owl House Foundation site http://www.owlhouse.co.za/) So ended the tragic yet somehow beautiful life of a colourful character whose artistic vision and psychological depth went mostly unnoticed by her neighbours in the dusty, out-of-the-way Great Karoo village of Nieu Bethesda. Helen Martins, who went on to create…

Visit the Owl House in Nieu Bethesda and see a world outsider artist Helen Martins created of cement and glass.

Candy from London Traveller introduces you to Graaff Reinet, located in the heart of the Karoo – and the fourth oldest town in South Africa.

The small hamlet of Nieu Bethesda is sometimes called "the village left behind in time." To some degree, that is the choice of its inhabitants. For example, the villagers chose to keep their dirt streets, even though the government was willing to pave them. So, you drive miles from Graaff-Reinet on pot-holed, rugged gravel roads to get to Nieu Bethesda. Why go there at all? Because it has also become known as a small artisan village - with an active women's art cooperative, several small…

Funny owl memes that give cat memes a run for their money! These sinister birds of prey know how to give some serious side-eye.

Rosa Lyster visits the Owl House, in South Africa’s Karoo desert, a place built by the reclusive artist Helen Martins and converted into an unsettling museum after she died.

The Owl House, Neue Bethesda, SA

Helen Elizabeth Martins was born on 23 December 1897 in the Karoo village of Nieu Bethesda in the Eastern Cape. She was the youngest of six children and spent her childhood growing up in Nieu Bethesda. She went on to obtain a teacher's diploma in nearby Graaff-Reinet and, around that time, married Johannes Pienaar - a teacher, dramatist and, in later years, a politician.

Nieu Bethesda - South Africa The Owl House

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Owl_House

A self-portrait of Helen Martins serving her father food. These cement statues were made by Helen Martins & Koos Malgas. The museum is open 7 days a week & a must visit for all.

The Camel Yard with concrete sculptures surrounding The Owl House, Nieu Bethesda, Eastern Cape, South Africa

The Owl House in the Karoo town of Nieu Bethesda, South Africa