The Road to Creation Helen Martins and the Owl House


The Road to Mecca is inspired by the true life story of Helen Elizabeth Martins, the youngest of six children, born and raised in the small South African village of Nieu Bethesda in December 1897. Martins obtained her teacher’s diploma in nearby Graaff-Reinet and moved to the Transvaal region to become a teacher. In 1920 she married Johannes Pienaar, a teacher, playwright, and politician. The marriage was troubled, and it ended in 1926. Little is known about Martins in the years during or immediately following her marriage.


In the 1930s, Martins returned to Nieu Bethesda to take care of her elderly parents. Her invalid mother died in 1941, and her father died in 1945, leaving Martins isolated in the remote village with few prospects of her own. One night, as she lay ill in bed, depressed about her dull and gray existence, she resolved to fi nd a way to bring light and color into her life. This decision lead to a lifelong artistic quest to transform her environment.


In her late 40s, with no overall plan and no formal artistic training, Martin began decorating the interior of her house. Fascinated by the refl ection of light and different hues of colors, she covered her walls with crushed glass, set in elaborate patterns on layers of colored paint. She created a visual language with motifs of sun-faces and owls. Around 1964, after completing the interior of the house, Martins extended her vision outside; for the next 12 years she worked with Koos Malgas, a local sheepshearer and builder, to create the sculptures and relief fi gures that would fi ll the “Camel Yard” and cover the walls of the house. Inspired by the Bible and world poets, the sculptures represent Christian as well as Eastern religious icons: shepherds, sheep, camels, and other real and imaginary beings. All the fi gures in the Camel Yard face east – the direction of Mecca. An arched entryway at the front of the house is watched over by a double-faced owl.


4 ROUNDABOUTTHEATRECOMPANY


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20