MAGGIE STRACHAN

Mauritius News
January 31- February 6, 1999

MAGGIE STRACHAN fervently believes that art is life and doesn't think you can seperate the two.

The South African lecturer in art will no doubt be putting that message across during a three-month stay on the island, during which she has volunteered to give lectures on oil painting at the Crafts Academy in Quatre Bornes.

" I am very impressed with their project. That's why I am helping." says Maggie.

The lecturer, who holds a diploma in arts from Natal, has been teaching the subject for 34 years. She believes in combining theory and emotions to achieve the best results.

"This is how I teach and it is more interesting for the student," she says, adding that theory is important but it should not become a rule. "People must trust their own intuitive response to colour," she advises.

As a creative teacher, Maggie says that she attends to students more or less on an individual level. "I try to build creative confidence. When you get people to be creative you must remember that each person is an individual and each one expresses creativity differently.

"I respect the individuality of each of my students. If you teach someone to swim, you don't throw them in the deep end. You teach them by stages so that they can enjoy it."

After 34 years of teaching art in different South African institutions, Maggie has retired and now coaches students in her own studio. And that's why she has the opportunity for a long and well deserved holiday in Mauritius.

Oil painting is Maggie's medium. Comparing water colour to oil, she says: "Water colour is very direct. You put it down and that's it - while oil offers great room for experimenting in different ways. I find it very exciting."

According to her, everybody can draw and paint provided they are given the opportunity. "People don't express their creative talent because they don't trust themselves."

Born in the Eastern Cape, Maggie is grateful to her parents for having given her the opportunity to draw and paint when she was still a child.

Art history is yet another of her interests.

According to Maggie, the thinking and inspiration of an artist is influenced by his or her environment and life around. "Art is made by individuals. You can respond to a piece of art created by the individual and not necessarily by the country he comes from. You can't give art a label. South African painting belonging to the late 1970s expresses a great deal of anger, but later painting is more varied.

Nature is Maggie's main source of inspiration "because I live in Durban. All big cities can be very stressful. I like to get out into the bush and the country as much as possible to walk or to go camping. It's good for my soul. I feel very close to nature."

Painting and drawing, she says, is like meditation. She feels closest to herself while doing creative work.

The lecturer has two children and two grandchildren. Her son Joe is here with her on this holiday. He, too, is helping at the Crafts Academy painting murals.

MAGGIE STRACHAN

workshops...Art and life inseperable says visiting artist