Eva Kingma

"This holds my heart and soul," says Kingma as she proudly looks at the flute. The two-and-a-half-meter-tall device – the total tube length is even longer than five meters – stands prominently in the living room in Grolloo. "It's unique. I've never made one this large before."
It has been a process of years, and she didn't complete it effortlessly. "Without my regular silversmith David Kerkhof and the help of Egbert Streuer, I would never have managed," says Kingma. "They ensured I had the space to build this bizarre thing."

God bless the effort
Sometimes you have to start somewhere and see where the ship runs aground. "About ten years ago, this idea got into my head. If you look closely, you understand that this isn't something you think up today and do tomorrow." But after much deliberation, she decides to start.
At some point, she has to order materials. She needs seamless drawn tubes. A company in Germany can help her, but she has to buy at least 300 kilos. "I'm not going to do that, I thought. I don't even know if I can get that instrument to work."
A visit to Streuer changes things. The former sidecar champion gives her the final push. "You are going to do this," he said. "If you can't get it to work, then we'll do something with those tubes in Grolloo. We'll use them up. And then I decided to do it. God bless the effort."

'Grateful process'
It was very exciting, she says. But the fact that it can now be played makes the resident of Grolloo more than satisfied. Flutist Matthias Ziegler is very enthusiastic about the new instrument. "Musically, it takes me to places I've never been before. I really enjoy that process of discovery. It's fantastic."
"There is much more sound in it than I ever dared to hope for," says Kingma. "It's not quite there yet, but it's starting to work now. I keep searching for the sound, but the start is so incredibly good. It's a grateful process."