Bermuda Day Grand Marshal 2013 – The Colours, Sights and Sounds of Bermuda
Ronnie Chameau is a vibrant native St. David’s Islander. From her earliest days at St. David’s Primary School she preferred to draw pictures in the backs of her school books. Her love for art grew as she matured. She first worked with oils and then sketched scenes with charcoal. By the time she entered her teens she combined watercolours with her sketching.
In 1986 she was inspired to revive the dying art of doll making in Bermuda. Mrs. Marie Gleeson’s dolls intrigued her and she sought to learn how to make them. Unfortunately, Mrs. Gleeson died without passing on her knowledge of doll making, so Ronnie had to teach herself. She still possesses the Gleeson doll her mother had bought for her when she was only eight years old.
Ronnie loves Bermuda and is especially interested in the preservation of its history and in helping its people. As a result, she has volunteered her time at the St. David’s Island Historical Society and the St. David’s Islanders and Native Community.
Ronnie has contributed significantly to Bermuda’s rich culture. She continues to seek innovative ways of expressing her art and is committed to passing on what she knows. Her generous spirit will ensure the preservation and perpetuation of doll-making, Palmetto basket weaving and other crafts in Bermuda.
In 2005, always eager to find new outlets for her creativity, Ronnie ventured from paintings to collecting bark from the banana tree, which she uses to create scenes of Bermuda.
In 2011 the Department of Culture featured a documentary film of Ronnie and her arts and crafts.
