Ellen Spijkstra | |
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![]() Ellen Spijkstra in her workshop, 2020 | |
Born | |
Nationality | Dutch |
Known for | Ceramics |
Ellen Spijkstra (born 3 August 1957) is a Dutch ceramic artist and photographer, resident in Curaçao.[1]
Ellen Spijkstra was educated at the Academie Minerva in Groningen.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4] In 1991 she completed a photography course at the New York Institute of Photography.[3]
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.[5] She creates ceramic pieces on a variety of scales, ranging from small to monumental, and prefers to work on series.[6]
Spijkstra has taught at, among others, the Instituto Buena Bista in Curaçao,[7] the Ateliers '89 in Aruba[8] and the Taller Escuela Arte Fuego in Caracas. As an artist-in-residence she worked at the Taller Varadero in Cuba (seventh Havana Biennale),[9] the Resen International Ceramic Colony in Resen and the Shangyu Celadon Modern International Ceramic Center in Shangyu, China.[10]
Spijkstra's work is held, among other museums, in the collection of the Curaçaosch Museum.[11]
She is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics.[12]