Nivea Booklet

JOAN MARTIN Born 1964, in Dundee, Scotland Joan Martin won her first colouring-in competition at the age of four. The early acknowledgement of her talent motivated her to immerse herself in art, and she is currently senior art teacher at Durban Girl's College. Some of Joan's students have used their skills to transform the children's cancer block at a Durban hospital with colourful murals, which have brought joy to patients and visitors alike. Her dream is to open her own art studio one day.

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Etching is a winning art

Diminutive Joan Hassan, a fourth year Fine Arts student, was the surprised and elated winner of the Martienssen Prize for the best independantly created artwork at the University last month. A panel of judges consisting of all the Fine Arts department lecturers chose Joan's etching "Flowers by choice" from a number of works submitted by second, third and fourth-year students.

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Artists' Collaboration

Scratching the surface

Press: Scratching the surface ~ Mail & Guardian, Friday, April 9 – 16 2009 KwaZulu-Natal’s largest private contemporary art address, the sprawling Kizo Art Gallery in futuristic mega-mall Gateway, recently opened the intriguing Scratching Surfaces exhibition, which pools the talents of five top KZN women artists who get to grips with a variety of cogent existential issues through their shared genre of illustration. Lara Mellon, Joan Martin, Lesley Magwood- Fraser, Rene Leslie and Maggie Strachan are the five artists from the province whose work forms a compelling display of individual and collective creative strength. All the artists share a passion for landscape (the surface) of their home province, which they explore and express through the mark-making (scratching) process of drawing.

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Two Chickens

TWENTY years ago, a number of Durban artists taking part in the Natal Playhouse's first Living Arts Exhibition had so enjoyed working together they decided to continue as a group - and started with a series of drawing workshops under the guidance of Jeanette Gilks.

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Creative Use of Paper

An opening party was held for an exhibition of winning and selected works from a national competition entitiled "Creative Use of Paper" at the Shell Gallery.  First prize went to Joan Hassan (right) receiving her prize from Janice Ashby.