Ellen Spijkstra

Ellen Spijkstra studied at Academie Minerva, Rochester Institute of Technology and New York Institute of Photography. The recorded working language is Dutch. Places of work recorded in the authority are Curaçao. Work by Ellen Spijkstra is recorded in the collections of art collection Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten. Distinctions recorded are Cola Debrot Award.

• Name — Ellen Spijkstra • Born — 3 August 1957 • Birthplace — Hattem • Field — Ceramics

Ellen Spijkstra was educated at the Academie Minerva in Groningen. In 1980 she moved to Curaçao with her husband, Eric de Brabander. In 1985–1986 she took a summer course in glassblowing at the Rochester Institute of Technology in the Rochester, New York metropolitan area, followed by theory courses in clay and glaze studies and kiln construction as part of the Master of Fine Arts Ceramics program. After this year-long hiatus, she settled permanently in Curaçao. She established the ceramics studio Girouette and gave ceramics courses until 2012. Photography was initially only a hobby but after winning a local photography competition in 1985, she developed into a dual talent. In 1991 she completed a photography course at the New York Institute of Photography. Spijkstra draws much of her inspiration from Curaçao's natural environment. She combines her ceramics with rock and coral fragments and integrates photos of corals in her ceramics. Her main themes are land and water, life and decay. She creates ceramic pieces on a variety of scales, ranging from small to monumental, and prefers to work on series. Spijkstra has taught at, among others, the Instituto Buena Bista in Curaçao, the Ateliers '89 in Aruba and the Taller Escuela Arte Fuego in Caracas. As an artist-in-residence she worked at the Taller Varadero in Cuba (seventh Havana Biennale), the Resen International Ceramic Colony in Resen and the Shangyu Celadon Modern International Ceramic Center in Shangyu, China. Spijkstra's work is held, among other museums, in the collection of the Curaçaosch Museum. She is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics.

• 1988 Ceramic sculptures and photographs, Het Curaçaosch Museum • 1989 Ellen Spijkstra, Taller Escuela Arte Fuego, Caracas • 1993 Lustrum Prijs, Curaçaosch Museum, Curaçao • 2000 Curaçao Harbor Tour, Maritiem Museum Curaçao • 2003 Passage of Time, Art Studio Insight, Aruba • 2004 Waterwerk, Dutch Maritime Museum, Amsterdam • 2008 Kleurgamma Downtown, Amsterdam • 2008 Photoimagen, The French Embassy Gallery, Santo Domingo • 2008 Global Local, Galerie Bloemhof, Curaçao • 2009 Ellen Spijkstra, Photography and Ceramics, Galerie Taptoe, Brussels • 2013 Oud en Nieuw, Avila Beach Hotel, Curaçao • 2015/18 Open Atelier Route, Studio Girouette, Curaçao • 2019 Ellen Spijkstra – An artistic journey, Het Curaçaosch Museum, Curaçao

• Illustration — Totem of Confusions (60x30x220 cm), earthenware, underglaze and oxides, 7th biennial of Havana, 2000 • Illustration — Frozen Turmoil (20x18x30 cm), marbled earthenware, fossil coral and steel, 2004 • Illustration — Presenting the Stone V (20x20x30 cm), glazed earthenware, porcelain, fossil limestone, coral stone and steel, 2004 • Illustration — Gateway to a Gateway (650x15x400 cm), glazed stoneware, Maduro & Curiel's Bank, 2011 • Illustration — Sea Urchin (38x45x43 cm), glazed stoneware with ceramic decal, 2015 • Illustration — Orange Blossom (43x30x150 cm), stoneware, underglazes, steel, 2019 • Illustration — Flor di Sumpiña (20x20x65 cm), glazed stoneware and copper, Cathedral of thorns, 2020

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