Entre Nous is the monthly newsletter
from the Tourism Corporation Bonaire (TCB), Netherlands Antilles.
In this newsletter you will find the accomplishments of TCB
in Bonaire, North America, South America and Europe as well
as the newest developments within the tourism industry.
We hope that you will read it with
pleasure and if you have something that you think is relevant
for the tourism sector to know just fax it to 717-8408 or e-mail
to: info@tourismbonaire.com.
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
TCB
BONAIRE
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LOCAL
REPORT
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New
Bonaire Ambassador
AWARDED
BRONZE: |
Horst
Merker
|
In
the late 1980s, ALM
had the heavy maintenance
for their aircrafts
done by AUA in Vienna
and I did the test
flights for them. The
ALM Crews did awake
my interest for this
island, so in 1990
I flew the first time
to Bonaire, made my
dive certification
here, and from this
time on, I love to
be here. There are
several reasons for
that.
First
of all I like the friendly
people and the diving,
especially here at
the Divi
Flamingo Resort.
I give great compliments
to the dive crews,
as they are very kind
and helpful. So that’s
the reason to come
here almost every year,
especially as I do
most of the travels
here alone and feel
very relaxed and comfortable.
So
I hope the island will
stay as it is.
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AWARDED
BRONZE: |
Wilhelmina
Sandig |
Mrs. Sandig has been
coming to Bonaire since
1995, when she first
visited her daughter
and son-in-law, who live
here. Mrs. Sandig has
visited Bonaire 25 times
in these 10 years, and
we have the pleasure
to name her a bronze
Bonaire ambassador! Mrs.
Sandig, who’s 81
years old, loves one
thing in particular;
cycling every day from
Belnem to Kralendijk
and back. In fact, she
appeared in the Bonaire
Reporter previously.
She loves to snorkel
also, which she does
together with her daughter,
and enjoys the water
temperature. Mrs. Sandig
loves the island! Tourism
Corporation Bonaire,
along with the entire
island, hope we can see
her many times again.
Mrs. Wilhelmina Sandig
is one of the Tourism
Corporation Bonaire’s
Ambassadors. Congratulations!
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Bonaire's
Chefs in Italy
 The
ABC islands joined
together in a Stage
(Internship) program
in Italy, at the School
Nazareno Carpi, with
the goal to enrich
the lives of the young
chefs of the islands.
This four week experience was
a life-long lesson
and will also help
to make career decisions.
The
graduation ceremony
was a gala event, attended
by the Delegation
of ABC islands as well
as the Minster
of Education
for the region, Emilia
Romagna, and President
of Modena Providence
Mr. Emilio
Sabattini, who handed
out the certificates
to our young chefs.
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More
Titles for Bonaire's
Captain Don Stewart
 During Dia
di Boneiru (Day
of Bonaire),
the island
conferred on
Donal A. Stewart
the title of
Most Honored
Citizen of
Bonaire (ereburger,
in Dutch).
The Minister
of Culture
Reginald Dortalina
presented official
decrees to
Captain Don,
as well as
Sur Virginia
and Theo Scherptong,
for their outstanding
contributions
to the Bonairean
community.
Captain Don
is the only
foreigner who
has received
such an honor.
His certificate
details his
contributions
to the development
of Bonaire
tourism in
general, especially
dive tourism,
while always
doing his best
to preserve
Bonaire's natural
resources,
whereby Bonaire
is recognized
worldwide as
a model for
sustainable
economic development.
 INTERNATIONAL
SCUBA DIVING HALL
OF FAME: On
October 12th, Bonaire’s
Captain Don Stewart
was inducted into
the International
Scuba Diving Hall
of Fame in Grand
Cayman. The Honorable
Mr. Charles E. Clifford,
Minister of Tourism
of the Cayman Islands,
presented the awards
to four 2005 inductees:
Captain Don, Ernest
Brooks II, Andreas
Rechnitzer, and Dewey
Bergman.
Captain
Don was greeted as “Sir
Turtle” when
he boarded his Cayman
Airways flight. The
next day when he climbed
the stairs to the podium
at the Awards Ceremony,
Mr. Clifford greeted
him as Sir Turtle II.
The flamboyant turtle
with the flowing red
scarf and the wooden
peg leg has long been
the colorful symbol
of Cayman tourism.
However, the title,
Sir Turtle, seems to
equally suit the Captain,
who lost his lower
right leg last year
and deems it an honor
to be perceived as
Sir Turtle by his friends
in the Caymans.
In his
acceptance remarks,
Captain Don as Sir
Turtle brought laughter
as he regaled the audience
with his humor. He
insisted that he could
only accept this Hall
of Fame recognition
on a shared basis with
the Island of Bonaire
who has done all the
work to put Bonaire
where it is today. Captain
Don read words from
Bonaire’s Lt.
Governor Herbert Domacasse
commending the people
of the Caymans for
the fortitude and strength
on their rebuilding
after Hurricane Ivan. This
outside recognition
of their tragedy had
not been experienced
before and left some
with teary eyes of
appreciation.
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TCB
Europe Goes Europe
 With the coming of fall, TCB in Amsterdam “goes
Europe.” Last month, Mr. Rob Al,
our Senior Marketing Manager for Secondary
(Upcoming!) Markets, visited Denmark and
Sweden on a Scandinavian Tour. Joined by
both Aruba and Curaçao, Rob attended
several road shows to meet and greet the
Scandinavian tour operators, travel agents,
and press. After Germany and the UK, these
Scandinavian countries are becoming our
fourth market. Rob presented our online
support program such as the Bonaire-in-Motion
Web site, the virtual dive brochure, and,
of course, our e-learning tool. Via this
Web instrument, we can educate travel agents
via remote techniques. On return from Scandinavia,
Rob attended a workshop in Antwerp (see
picture).
Back to the top
Dutch
Winners Go Kiting
In
October the sun was still shining in
Holland and the proud winners of the
kite lessons came to the Ijmuiden beach.
The travel agents of Toerkoop Reisbureau
won a kite lesson by our promotion partner.
They even came back a week later when
the wind was really blowing, so we know
tourists will be told to come to Bonaire
to kite. This promotion was held this
summer to promote the new trade Web site
with special videos for the travel trade
industry.
Back to the top
TCB
and Bonhata Launched New CTO Training
Program
 CTO Holland recently launched
its new e-learning tool for travel agents.
This tool is informing and educating
them on the whole Caribbean and, of course,
Bonaire, as one of the prime destinations
given the fact we are part of the Dutch
Antilles. TCB Europe and Bonhata joined
the opening ceremony, which was held
in Ouwehands Dierenpark in Rhenen. Also
the information for educational tool
was presented by the joint forces
of TCB and Bonhata.
Pan
European Viral Campaign Looks Promising
This month TCB Europe launched
the first pan-European viral campaign
and the first results look very, very
promising. Of course, there is a huge
difference between the various European
countries since the use of internet varies
from region to region. At first glance,
it looks like Scandinavia and the UK
are really picking up. We would like
say thanks to the support of the UK dive
magazines in promoting the viral Web
site in their e-mail newsletter (download
pdf).
Back to the top
German
Tour Operators on Infobonaire.com
Beginning this month
German tour operators can present their
latest specials on
www.infobonaire.com.
Go to the German homepage and click
on "angebote" to
see for yourself. This tool has been
successfully used by Dutch tour operators
for over a year now. This fall and
winter, TCB Europe is increasing efforts
in the secondary markets and this marketing
support tool is one part of this campaign.
The UK tour operator tool is to follow
soon.
Back to the top
Upcoming:
More Videos and Press Releases
In the next few weeks,
journalist and film crews are visiting
Bonaire to make photos and shoot
for TCB’s
winter campaign. It’s too
soon for details, but a full report
will be ready for the next Entre
Nous.
Back to the top
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Bonaire
Makes Big Splash at DEMA
Starting with the TCB – BONHATA co-sponsorship
of the Adventure Travel Symposium they day
before the show opened, and continuing on
with the TCB sponsorship of the Scuba Tour,
the launch of the new dive DVD, the introduction
of the Official 2006 Calendar of Bonaire,
and music by Moogie, Bonaire
had a major presence at DEMA Show 2005 in
Las Vegas, October 3-8 this month.
.
On October 3, 2005 TCB along with the Bonaire
Hotel and Tourism Association (BONHATA) co-sponsored
the DEMA Adventure Travel Symposium including
the coffee break and luncheon. In addition
to decorating the room with Bonaire signage
and making information on the island available
to conference participants, the event featured
a luncheon presentation by Bonaire’s
hotel and dive center professionals and the
introduction of the new Dive DVD.
To announce TCB’s selection
of the Official 2006 Calendar of Bonaire,
eight autographed calendars were raffled
off at the TCB booth during the Show. A big
hit with show attendees, many people entered
to win, but only two lucky people per day
of the Show got to take a calendar home.
Bonaire’s sponsorship of the Scuba
Tour paid off once again, with the Bonaire
Dive Banner being located at the Scuba Pool
location on the Show floor, along with a
poster size copy of the Bonaire “Divers’ Paradise” license
plate. Additionally, when the Scuba Pool
Director, “Big Wave Dave”, was
being interviewed on NBC-TV he mentioned
Bonaire not once, but twice! And whether
it was the end of each day on the show floor,
or the end of the show, music by Moogie reflected
the laid-back, mellow vibe of the island.
A big thank you to all of the exhibitors
who worked so hard all week to bring Bonaire’s
message to the Dive Community!
2006
Co-op Advertising Plan Available
The 2006 co-op advertising plan
for the US market was released on Tuesday,
October 25. It listed four dive publications
and three Dive Plus and Leisure publications
where TCB would be placing advertising
and providing the opportunity for
the private sector to participate
as co-op partners. The plan was sent
to hotels and dive shops on island.
Anyone who did not receive a copy of the
plan and would be interested in participating
should contact Candice Kimmel, TCB-NYC
at Candice@adams-pr.com.
Back to the top
Briefing
Held for Continental Reservations Center
in Salt Lake City
On Tuesday, October 25, 2005 Sarah Biggerstaff
of TCB-NY traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah
to introduce the reservation agents to
Bonaire. Armed with dive flyers, BONHATA
brochures and fuzzy divers for everyone,
Salt Lake City’s 1,000 agents certainly
received a taste of Bonaire. The visit
to the Salt Lake City Reservations Office
was organized by Sarah Biggerstaff and
Kandie Jaramillo of Continental Airlines
and can certainly be deemed as a success.
Sarah was scheduled to then continue on
to Continental’s third US reservations
office in Tampa, Florida, but the visit
was postponed until November due to Hurricane
Wilma
Dive
Newswire for October
In October two press releases were distributed
on Dive Newswire. Press release topics
included: raffle of newly selected Official
2006 Calendar of Bonaire at DEMA Show
2005 and announcement that Captain Don
Stewart will be inducted into International
Scuba Diving Hall of Fame. Dive Newswire
is distributed electronically to more
than 6,000 dive shop owners, manufacturers
as well as media outlets.
Back to the top
Bonaire
EZ News for October
In October two
issues of Bonaire EZ News were distributed
to our database of 35,000 consumers and
travel agents. The October 3rd issue
focused on special services hotels are
offering guests arriving early
in the morning on the Continental
Airlines flight from Houston. The
October 17th issue focused on island
news.
Press
Releases
In October four press releases were written
and distributed:
1. A press release announcing that Captain
Don Stewart will be inducted into the
International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame
was distributed to the dive and travel
trade media as well as on Dive Newswire.
2. A press release announcing Bonaire’s
launch of a new dive DVD at DEMA Show 2005
was distributed to the dive media and in
the DEMA Show press room.
3. A third press release announcing that
TCB will raffle off eight copies of the
Official 2006 Calendar of Bonaire at DEMA
Show 2005 was distributed on Dive Newswire
and in the DEMA Show press room.
4. A fourth press release announcing the
selection of the Official Calendar of Bonaire
was also written and distributed to the
media including dive, travel trade and
travel publications, daily newspapers and
freelance travel writers.
Press Visits
Work began with writer Sam Logan who
is on assignment to update the Bonaire
chapter of the Rum and Reggae Caribbean
guidebook. Mr. Logan will be visiting
Bonaire November 17 – 20, 2005
to update the chapter.
Initial work began with Christina Colon
who is on assignment to update the Bonaire
chapter of the 6th edition of the guidebook
Frommer's Caribbean Ports of Call. The
book will be published in August/September
2006. Ms. Colon will be visiting Bonaire
in the coming months.
October Editorial
Highlights
San Francisco
Chronicle (circulation 468,370): Bonaire
was the featured destination on the front
page of the travel section of the San Francisco
Chronicle on Sunday, October 16, 2005.
Journalist Carolyne Zinko, who has been
an annual visitor to the island since 1990,
writes about her most recent trip to Bonaire
with her cousin who doesn’t
swim. In turn, Zinko was able to enjoy
all that Bonaire has to offer topside.
Zinko describes some of the activities
that she experienced, including kayaking
in the mangroves and taking an art lesson.
Many of Bonaire’s landmarks and activity
centers are mentioned in this article,
which is available to read online at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/10/16/TRGQBF79G81.DTL.
Caribbean
Travel & Life
(circulation 130,000): Readers of the
November 2005 issue of Caribbean Travel & Life
magazine are reminded to go to the CT&L
Web site to enter to win a trip to Bonaire.
Also featured in the issue is a package for
Deep Blue View. The package offered allows
travelers to choose between two certification
courses and includes unlimited shore diving
with tanks and Marine Park fees, truck rental,
daily breakfast, a barbeque dinner and rum
bunch sunset trip, and accommodation in a
villa that can accommodate up to six. Contact
information for the property is listed. This
article is not available online, however
the online contest and other articles about
Bonaire are available at www.caribbeantravelmag.com.
Passport
Magazine (circulation 23,919): The ABC islands are the featured travel destination
in the November 2005 issue of Passport
Magazine. Bonaire is highlighted by travel
writer Rich Rubin in a two-page spread
including color photos. Rubin discusses
his accommodations, the wonderful food
that he enjoyed and his daily activities,
as well as some of the discussions that
he had with residents about gay and lesbian
travel in Bonaire. Rubin sums up his experience
on Bonaire as “taking it easy, seeing
the world around [me] and enjoying the
unique environment.” This article
will be available online as soon as the
magazine hits newsstands at www.passportmagazine.net.
Tewksbury
Advocate (circulation 16,000): Bonaire was mentioned in an article about
scuba diving in the September 1, 2005 issue
of the Tewksbury (MA) Advocate. The article
is about the great diving in the Northeast
United States, but lists Bonaire as a great
warm-water destination to experience diving
because of the protected reefs and the
many species of fish. A color photo of
the dive site “Rock Pile” at
Klein Bonaire accompanies the article.
This article is available online at http://www2.townonline.com/tewksbury/schoolSports/view.bg?articleid=315451.
National
Geographic Traveler Online (online circulation): Bonaire rounded out the Caribbean deals in
the National Geographic Traveler A*List section
in September 2005. Golden Reef Inn and AB
Car Rental both offered exclusive deals for
newsletter readers and Plaza Resort’s
Toucan Dive for One deal was also mentioned.
Details about the all of the deals being
offered and contact information were listed.
This article is available online at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/deals/caribbean.html.
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FITCAR
Venezuelan First Trade Show
 The
first Caracas International tourism trade show,
a government initiative, took place Oct. 5th
through the 8th at La Carlota Airport. At this
event, Venezuela showed its splendor region
by region. Featured were its tourist+ attractions,
music, handcraft, culture and fashions. There
were different pavilions; among them were the
International sections where Bonaire was invited
along with other destinations: Dominican Republic,
Cuba, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Trinidad & Tobago,
Dominica, St. Vincent, USA, Spain, Portugal,
Argentina, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Perú, and
Sudafrica, India.
The Bonaire booth was located between Aruba
and Curacao. It showed the Bonaire video which
was on a continuous loop lending to the Caribbean
atmosphere. The booth was visited mostly by end
consumers requesting information and promotional
material from the island. During three days from
9 am to 7 pm, the Bonaire brochure in Spanish
was given to the visitors as were maps, hotel
programs and about how to get to Bonaire with
the flights of Transaven (PAS) and Sol de Amèrica
(Adventure Travel).
Attending the booth were Johan Gonesh Progressive
Air Services Bonaire, Lucrecia Laborde Divi Flamingo
Venezuela, Adriana Di Gerónimo SunRentals
and TCB, Yasmin Pérez, Maribel Arcia and
a selected group of University students previously
qualified in the promotion of the iIsland, proudly
wearing Bonaire t-shirts.
The booth also was honored with the presence
of an official Delegation from the island, Deputy
Geraldine Dammers and Evo Cicilia. They
were at FITCAR invited by the Government of Venezuela
to participate in "I Cumbre de Autoridades
de Turismo."
Back to the top
Venezuelan Tour
Operators Visited Bonaire
At the invitation from Mr. Stanley
Balentin, TCB and the host hotels, an important
group of tour operators visited Bonaire
from Sept. 25th to the 29th to get familiarized
with the island, its outdoor activities,
accommodations, gastronomy and, most
importantly, to experience for themselves
the aircraft from the airline Sol
de America, a jet stream 19-seater flying
Thursdays and Sundays between Bonaire and Caracas.
The group of wholesalers were
very pleased with this great news about the
direct flights since the island is well known
in the market. In the past, serious difficulties
in airlift had not permitted us to increase
the numbers of visitors from Venezuela. Having
the commitment to maintain these non-stop
flights on the route, the tour operators
are now certain that Bonaire will be reactivated
as it was in the past.
Thanks to all of you who made
the fam trip possible, especially
the host hotels: Plaza Resort, Divi Flamingo,
Captain Don’s
Habitat, SunRentals, Buddy Dive, Bonaire
Inn, and Belmar. Representing TCB was Yasmin
Pérez, who traveled with the group.
Back to the top
Yasmin
Pérez in Bonaire
With a busy schedule on island,
after the tour operators in fam trip from Venezuela
returned, Yasmin stayed in Bonaire (until
October 2nd). She visited the small properties
who frequently contact the tourism office
interested in promoting their properties. She
had an interview at radio station BONFM 102.7
with Bubui. The main topic was airlift improvements.
She also had meetings with Jacinto (Progressive
Air Services) and Stanley (Adventure Travel),
ratifying our commitment to the airline, its
promotions and to get up-to-date information
about their air operation--not only for Venezuela,
but also for South America.
As always, Yasmin took a day
off to go diving and to have the opportunity
to experience the blokart which was also exciting.
Maribel Arcia, Yasmin’s assistant, was
also on-island for the weekend enjoying tours
of the island. Thanks to everyone in Bonaire
for their warm hospitality. With the direct
flights, we’ll
see them more often on-island.
Sao
Paulo Boat Show & Brazil Dive Show
The next Brazil Dive
Show will take place during the Sao Paulo Boat
Show. Bonaire will be showcased with an official
presentation among the diving sector. Local
main dive operators have been invited to promote
their diving packages at the Bonaire
booth. More information about this important
promotional visit to Brazil in our next Entre Nous.
The
Official
DVD of Bonaire
We are very
glad to have
the promotional
DVD in Spanish
and Portuguese.
This Portuguese
version will
be used at
the upcoming
Sao Paulo Boat
Show in Brazil
taking place
from October
27th till November
2nd.
Back to the top
Avavit
Trade
Show
Nov 14th
Through
16th
The next
Avavit
will take
place in
Caracas
from November
14th to
the 16th.
Avavit
represents
a tremendous
opportunity
to contact
the diving
and tourism
sector
of Venezuela.
Bonaire
has already
reserved
its booth.
For more
information,
contact
Yasmin
at southamerica@tourismbonaire.com. Back to the top
Specialized
Press
Giving
Support
The
monthly
tourism
magazines
GAM & Gaceta,
directed
at
travel
agencies
and
corporate
companies,
are
always
giving
support
to
our office
with
the latest
news
of the
island.
In
its October
edition,
both
magazines
highlighted
the
non-stop
flights
and its
frequencies
to
Bonaire
from
Caracas
and Valencia
by the
Bonearian
companies
Progressive
Air
Services
and
Adventure
Travel. Back to the top
1st
Investment
Conference
Promoted
by the
Dutch
Embassy
All
the information
related
to the
event,
was presented
to our
colleagues
at the
Dutch
Embassy who
kindly forwarded
it on to their
main
data
base
of
Dutch companies
and general
members.
Also
the information
was sent
to the
tourism
sector.
Back to the top
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NEWS
FROM THE TOURISM SECTOR
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Yellow Submarine Welcomes
REEF
 REEF
(Reef Environmental Education
Foundation) conducts trips
to various locations around
the world, and has a loyal
following of divers. At
each location, the group
will conduct survey dives,
seminars, and hold other
educational events geared
to showing the dive travelers
what the destination has
to offer.
Recently,
Joe Cavanaugh from REEF led
a group of nine intrepid
divers to Bonaire. As Bonaire's
only designated REEF Field
Station, Yellow Submarine
was proud to host the REEF
group on Wednesday and Thursday,
September 7 and 8, 2005.
Guided by Yellow Submarine's
dive guide, Jan, the group
made a survey dive in front
of Yellow Submarine on Wednesday,
followed by a guided shore
dive on the southern leeward
shoreline on Thursday.
The Dive Friends family
of dive shops has worked
incessantly over the past
few years, and is proud to
be able to state that many
of the nearly 10,000 surveys
conducted on Bonaire were
derived from staff or guests
of either Yellow Submarine
or Photo Tours Divers.
Yellow Submarine
is a division of Dive Friends
Bonaire, a new company devoted
to offering the best in diving
services here on Bonaire.
With four locations, Dive
Friends Bonaire is able to
provide flexibility
and personal service to the
Bonaire dive traveler.
For additional information,
visit www.dive-friends-bonaire.com,
or email info@dive-friends-bonaire.com.
Cinnamon Art Gallery
Presents Sculptures and Paintings
by Edith Foks-Ferrageau de
Saint Amand
 On
Saturday, October 29th, the
2005/2006 season of Guest Artist
Exhibitions at the Cinnamon
Art Gallery continued with
the opening of new sculptures
and paintings by Edith Foks-Ferrageau
de Saint Amand. The exhibit,
which iss open to the public,
will continue through
December 1, 2005.
Edith is fond of saying, “The
sculpture is in the stone—you
only have to get it out.” Although
this sounds easy, to sculpt
an object from stone, wood,
or any other material, requires
not only artistic capabilities,
but also insight into the material’s
possibilities—if too
much is taken away, or a piece
falls off, the sculpture might
fail. This is one of the reasons
that sculptures may take a
very long time to complete,
and also is why each hand-made
sculpture is unique.
Edith Foks-Ferrageau
de Saint Amand (her French
maiden name comes from the
time Napoleon Bonaparte sent
his army to the Netherlands)
has been working as a sculptress
since 1999 after many years
of painting and doing other
artistic expressions, such
as making hundreds of teddy
bears and teaching others how
to create them. She is also
a qualified and registered
reflexologist, which means
her hands not only create,
but also improve people’s
health. Edith was born in The
Hague, the royal city of the
Netherlands, on October 28,
1951, so it was just one
day after her birthday that
she presented her artistic
work at the Cinnamon Art Gallery.
Edith has participated in other
exhibitions in the Netherlands,
but this will be her premiere
exhibit in Bonaire, as it is
only since April 2004 that
she and her husband Bert have
been living on the island.
 “Painting
and drawing run through my
life like a continuous thread”,
she says. “Besides my
daily work in our own advertising
and design company, I always
find time for creative studies.
After many years of painting,
6 years ago I suddenly felt
the urge to sculpt. When I
was very young, I once used
a hammer and chisel on a stone.
This made such an impression
on me that I never forgot how
it felt and my love for the
visual arts did the rest. In
1999, I met some enthusiastic
people that were interested
in sculpture. We stimulated
each other, which resulted
in different kinds of art.
I worked with them until our
departure for Bonaire in 2004.
“My first stone sculpture
was of wall construction material,
which is rather soft and can
be shaped easily--I made my
first pieces with this. Then,
I switched to natural stone,
such as alabaster, serpentine,
soapstone, and French and Belgian
limestone. Also wood and marble
were used to create different
sized sculptures. I often work
months on one stone, and sometimes
I do two or more at a time.
The idea is always in my mind,
and sometimes I may work from
a small sketch or clay model,
but stone cannot be modelled
like clay, so each time I am
confronted with new challenges!
There is always a solution,
although it is sometimes hard
to find--the sculpture is in
the stone, you only have to
get it out!”
Unlike Bonaire, in the Netherlands
it is not difficult to get
any type of sculpting material.
Therefore, Edith bought rough
materials from a stone company
which sawed the pieces she
needed. “In Bonaire,
things are different.” Edith
says. “Using stones means
importing them from Europe
by container, or the other
alternative is to use the many
other materials provided by
the island. I like to work
with local materials such as
stone, wood, bamboo, and old
tree-stumps as these are readily
available. I made a totem-pole
from a flamboyant tree which
had to be removed from our
garden. This wood is excellent
to work with. Old coral stones
which are everywhere are also
good to work with, but the
stone is very porous and causes
many surprises when one is
cutting it. The shape of the
stone can play a leading role
when you are making a creation
out of it—for example,
it would be foolish to make
a square form out of a round
stone, and sometimes nature
already created some shape
that can be improved or used.
I often have to encourage myself
to find a solution and to continue,
but it is worth the effort.”
In 2001, Edith went to the
Free Art Academy in The Hague
to learn different techniques
of sculpting, which is also
where she learned to make bronze
sculptures. She occasionally
continues to work in bronze,
but it is a very complicated,
time-consuming, and expensive
procedure. However, the results
are always beautiful.
 Although Edith continues
to paint and draw now and then,
she prefers to work with her
hammer and chisel, comfortably
under a big tree in the garden,
where all her sculptures have
there own place. Each sculpture
has its own history, and, when
viewed, Edith can feel the
moods that held her while she
was creating them! “I
hope other people can feel
the same!”
Cinnamon Art Gallery is managed
by Bonaire Artists’ Foundation,
a non-profit organization dedicated
to promoting the work of local
artists in a permanent gallery
setting. The Gallery does not
accept any payment for the
work of its featured artists
-- when guests purchase Gallery
art, 100% of the monies received
flow back directly to the artist.
Private donations provide all
of the funding for exhibits
and the on-going cost of maintaining
the Gallery.
The Cinnamon
Art Gallery is located at Kaya
A.P.L. Brion #1 in downtown
Kralendijk, just off of Kaya
Grandi. For more information,
contact the Gallery at 717-7103
or info@CinnamonArtGallery.org.
The Gallery's web site
is at www.CinnamonArtGallery.org.
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