Ella Miss
Delavan, WI
Ella Miss is a music teacher in Beloit who took to the garage band app on an iPad and discovered her love for making music and creating sounds that she could dance to. If electronic beats, face paint, burlesque dancing and light whips are your jam, then you’re in for a treat.
Ella Miss plans to perform all night long and touching every one of our senses with her unique display. If you feel intrigued to give a light whip a crack, you’re in luck. Ella Miss will have some so you too can try your hand at something new. Give it try and don’t miss Ella Miss this year at DEVIATE.
September 16
Can you tell us some information about your art? How would you describe it? Art in the form of; electronic music, face paint, light whip and burlesque dance is where I find joy in celebrating my body while also expressing my frustrations with the confines of social constructs. For example, I’m currently producing a song called, “Just One Dance” which is a reaction to the loss of women to govern their own bodies with the overturn of Roe vs. Wade.
Where do you find your inspiration? I find my inspiration in a variety of places, for example; “How to Hold” was inspired by an article I read in the New York Times. “Raise Up Lacey” was inspired by my music classroom after the students had returned after COVID. “Remade by Fire” was inspired by a sermon I heard at church one Sunday. “What Are You Looking At?” was inspired by the anxiety I was experiencing as a result of posting on social media. I feel like when you are an artist, all of the experiences you are having at any given moment are being stored in our memory as a source for inspiration.
Is this your full-time job? If not, where do you work? My full-time job is as a music teacher here in Beloit at Aldrich. I have been at Aldrich for fifteen years. It was in 2010, when our classrooms received iPads, that I began to explore music production via Garageband. However now, as I approach retirement age, I have been pursuing opening an arts studio in Beloit. You can learn more about this endeavor at www.beloitpassionstudios.com.
What are your future goals for your art? In the future, I would like to continue to create art in the form of; electronic music, face paint, burlesque and light whip dance. Recently, I’ve started to help other artists produce music as well. In the second half of life, I would like to provide a safe place in the community for artists to create and express themselves. I would like to mentor upcoming artists and encourage them to know the importance of creating art that communicates their emotions even if it may not be mainstream.
What are you most excited about for DEVIATE? Why should people come to DEVIATE? I’ve been creating as a means to express my emotions. The music I make will never be on a top forty playlist, nor is it something I imagined anyone would come to a live show to hear. I am thrilled to be invited to share what I have created in an environment with other artists who do the same.
Why should people come to check you out at DEVIATE? People should come to see me at Deviate because I am one of a kind. I freely express myself through an 80s inspired darkwave-synth style music and dance without inhibitions. I enjoy wearing interesting costumes that I have styled myself; each look includes; lace, face paint, and headpieces. For this particular performance, my look has been inspired by a combination of Tim Burton films and 1920’s flappers. My dance is inspired by burlesque with an interesting twist; the use of a fiber optic whip. I will have a light whip available for anyone who would like to give it a twirl.
What do you want us to know about your art, your style? I feel like my music and burlesque performance might be misunderstood. However, I believe it is for the people who experience art to come to their own conclusions about it.
How did you find out about DEVIATE and why did you want to be involved? I found out about Deviate while scrolling on Facebook. I have been producing music in my home studio for years and was trying to figure out a way to share it publicly. I am excited to have an event like Deviate to share because, like I said, it would not fit in any other typical music performance settings.
What is your background? How did you get into art, did you go to school for it, etc. Give us a little history! My background is as a long-time public school music teacher. I do have a Bachelor of Music with a certification to teach from UW-Whitewater. I grew up as a young adult being essentially a roadie for my high school sweetheart’s band that played mostly in a little bar on Lauderdale Lakes. I was invited to play keys for the band, but at the time, I was classically trained so I would break out into Canon in D on their punk songs. It just didn’t fit. Then, in 2010, I began futzing with Garageband on the iPads in music class and was hooked! I knew what I was creating didn’t sound as nice as mainstream music so I began to search the internet for opportunities to learn about music production. I took some classes through; NYU, Berklee and then finally found Soundfly which provided me with private mentorships with industry professionals who taught me the ins and outs of all things songwriting and music production.