Student, instrumentalist, 2-d artist, and costume endorser Ed Ellermann gives readers a glimpse into his life.
Elizabeth Rousseau
– Staff Writer –
Dressed in a red-checkered shirt, a pinstripe vest, a blue tie, jeans, a leather jacket and slicked back hair, it looks like STLCC-Meramec student Ed Ellermann just walked off the set of a 1950s movie. This would be an everyday look for him, according to Ellermann.
Ellermann describes his style as an influence from retro and vintage. Most of his outfits are hand-me-downs or from secondhand shops.
“The way I dress is a projection of me. Everyone wears a T-shirt, jeans and a hat. I can have a different personality. One day I can be from the 1930s, and one day I can be from the 1980s or a cowboy. They are a reflection of styles that make up me,” Ellermann said.
From all of his personas, his favorite would be a tie between the ‘50s rocker and the fedora- wearing man.
“I love [Halloween] because people dress like I do all the time,” Ellermann said. “Why do you have to wait for one day to dress in costumes?”
Ellermann was born on May 12, 1989, in Crestco, Iowa as the fifth child of six. When he was three years old, his family moved to Illinois, and then when he was 10 his family moved to University City, Mo. After living there for seven years, his family moved to High Ridge.
He describes himself as a “witty, charismatic, personable, creative, and tall.”
“I’m five feet six and a half inches tall,” Ellerman said. “I was a laughable and enjoyable kid, a funny kid that liked to dress in costumes.”
Since Ellermann was very young, he has always had an ambition to do art and wanted to be a paid artist.
“Anyone can do art,” Ellermann said. “My favorite color used to be red, then it was blue, now because I took a class, Color Theory, I like everything. But right now I think I prefer green.”
With a mother as an artist and his dad as a woodworker, there was a lot of inspiration. Ellermann likes all of the creative avenues: singing, acting, drawing, and playing instruments – especially the ukulele.
Ellermann started playing the ukulele when he got his first one two years ago. “Everyone plays the guitar or the piano,” Ellermann said. “I like the ukulele for practical reasons. Its small size makes it portable and the four strings make it easy to tune. Also, while playing, you can’t help but smile.”
Ellermann’s favorite song to play is “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry, but he also plays songs by The Beatles and more contemporary songs from artists like Jason Mraz. He also likes to write his own songs. He wrote his first song in 2008 and since then he has written two and a half full songs and “a lot of unfinished songs,” Ellermann said as he counted them off on his fingers.
He started playing the ukulele after watching two men on YouTube doing a Frankie Valli cover.
“I like to play the ukulele because it has warm, Hawaiian tones that are cheery. Also it’s easy to pick it up and just start jamming,” Ellermann said.
Even though Ellermann has never been to Hawaii, he would not mind going.
“I wish, but no I have not been,” Ellermann said.
Ellermann hopes to finish his associate degree in fine arts at Meramec, and then go to a university that will lead him to a career drawing national syndicated cartoons in newspapers across the country.
“I want to go to a university that is a good match for me,” Ellermann said.
Ellermann said that his cartoon style as being similar to that of the Jetsons or classic cartoons.
“I like drawing funny, everyday cartoons. Not the kind you find in comic books,” Ellermann said
His favorite place to draw is in his room or in the kitchen of his house. “Three hours a day drawing a silly doodle and getting paid for it sounds like the best job, and the most rewarding,” Ellermann said.
