the OUREES marionettes
a product of Ballarat Secondary College.
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production creator JohN eLLIS
Aiming to achieve brilliance in visual story telling and art creation.
Vision: The creation of a marionette performing art group based in
EACH DAY RECORDED PHOTOGRAPHICALLY ON THE PROGRAMS OWN WEB SITE.( within Privacy Legistration constraints)
Snap shot:
For students who: • may be spending too much time on computers • creative in their thinking • enjoy the art making processes • big on the telling of stories • to explore • to form new peer groups • to create and think visually. Creative learning in a studio like environment. Opening the doors of studio art practice: School skill ages from years 7 to 12 .
Below, some previous student works done by John Ellis over his creative arts career.
A monster is built for a film project bigger than a car. Year 7 students Rainbow Secondary College.
Circling around art. 
Inspiration can come from the most unexpected places and so it was when Ellis visited a second-hand market. There he stumbled upon an old framed print of a picture by
The Artist
A brief outline of current arts practice.
Artists and Art Consultant/ teacher John Ellis, the Founder and a Managing Partner of The Muse studios, Curious Traveller and Willsmore cottage retreat Ballarat, brings the avant-garde and designer urban style to the world of education and world group travel. A long-time advocate for young and emerging artists and the creative process, Ellis for the past four years has been expanding boundaries through connecting people to burgeoning cultural destinations and events throughout the globe. Prior to founding the Curious Travel Group™, Ellis served as art teacher and art coordinator for cultural productions from 1983-2004 Vic. Ed. Dept., where he implemented and managed new and innovative arts programs
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Recent works:Venice / Rome
He holds a Bachelor of Education, arts and crafts Melbourne Uni majored in Sculpture and Asian studies. Internationally he has worked in
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Ellis continues to stay on the leading edge of the art world every year by attending annual offerings here and overseas with his travel arts tourist business and as he says it is all about finding the magic in place.
See http://www.willsmore.com.au/
The School. 
The East Campus is set in semi-rural, well maintained grounds. Its neighbourhood includes Ballarat East, Black Hill, Caledonian, Canadian Lead and extends eastwards to Ballan and
Wendouree Campus is the home of the Ballarat Secondary College Advance program - a nationally recognised student leadership program. Students from East Campus and Wendouree Campus complete their education at the Barkly Senior Campus. Here our students study in a purpose built, senior student environment. Access to high tech classrooms and adult teaching and learning practices assist students to achieve in the widest range of senior courses.
Our graduates have an admirable record of success at university, TAFE and in full-time employment. As well as linking to the Barkly Senior Campus both middle years campuses work closely with neighbouring primary schools implementing exemplary teaching practices. The College has a strong focus on the use of Information and Communication Technology in all learning areas.
The Project
The need or demand for the project.
The project is aimed at revitalizing the creative arts in the Wendouree campus. There exists a need for the art area to be given a new focus so as to generate and stimulate curriculum and resource changes.
What you are proposing to create?
The creation of a marionette performing art group, developing unique story telling methods through workshops and production groups, The Ourees are the starting point for this exciting tradition, and creating opportunities for young people to become more involved within our local arts community
The artistic concept of the work.
With 30 years of teaching art, artist John Ellis and the development of a production team are out to create joyful, eventful hands-on creative arts and art making experiences. The puppet making and performance creation will be achieved over a 20 day series of workshops.
How you are planning to do it including when and where the project will occur.
There is an unused area within the Art department cluttered with materials. This space is perfect for opening up a studio workshop. The workshop will be operated as if John was working in his own studio "the Muse". This new planned studio space which would be developed as an on going project and be a force for new energy in the school and it would naturally lead to improved self worth and well being.
The space now. .JPG)
The future vision for the area.
This creative space is the natural entrance to the art department. In developing the area the follow on would be a renewed understanding of pride and respect for materials and for creative tasks within the school. The production methods will be based on workshops I personally attended in Prague late 2007
Why you want this artist at your school?
Finding the magic in place is easy in
The Dean Paul Rose and school council have unconditionally backed the proposal and with the new campus opening up at East, it is important to develop programs creatively on the ground and with the most basic of materials, see the Willsmore Story on his site http://www.willsmore.com.au/page17.htm
He has worked as a casual replacement teacher on a daily basis for two years in all subject levels and we wish to expand this role as a force that can change and develop the arts curriculum. He is well received by the students and as he says, "Raw talent can sometimes create something really original." He represented Brentwood Secondary College in 2002 at an International conference on gifted and talented children where the key discussion focused on difficult students,often the most misunderstood group of bright children. He has maintained the focus in his art and teaching ever since.
Artist's role in the school.
By creating a studio space a parallel curriculum can naturally emerge. The sharing of ideas will make the learning more engaging. We want students to experience the self driven nature of the studio and how to research and develop a product in that context.
Artist's role in the development and production of any collaborative work.
Because of his film and theatre work in the past he sees the group activities of the marionette theatre as being essential in developing a final key production work. In his final year at Brentwood Secondary College his key work of story, set and lighting for a ROCK EISTEDFOD was highly praised and interestingly were partially replicated in the opening of the Commonwealth Games! He has written three school productions and his students work with Apple MAC technology resulted in his being asked by the company to teach various filmic methods at conferences.
Student Learning
Year levels 7 to to 10 are the target student group that will be involved. Key group will number 20 students
The project will be integrated into the school's curriculum planning by the open shop and studio approach to the work. The work will be seen as a natural extentsion of the students participation in the arts curriculum, covering key Victorian Essential Learning Standards.
- Construction
- Painting
- Resource management
- Story creation
- Presentation
All students involved in the tasks will be expected to present their work at student driven presentation days, at the end of June and again at the end of term 3.
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Teacher Learning·
All teachers (4) in the Arts will be engaged in the processes of marionette creation using their existing skills in clay modeling, wax moulds, paper mache, 2D perspective works. The marionettes will be based on drawings by Fellini created as storyboards for his films, the backgrounds based on Carravaggio images of Venice and all marionettes will have moving facial features and use geared, stringed controls. The key learning experiences for the teachers will be understanding production values using Apple MAC technololgy and web creation as a means of documentation. At least 3 key workshops will be held and recorded.
Time has already been given to the music department for production presentations and John has already been asked to contribute. A special workshop for the Dean, the principal class and all members of the school council will be conducted in the Muse studio, John's own privately run art work space. see http://www.willsmore.com.au/
The principal has requested this application and it has the full support of the school council.
John at 13 John today
Some things are a life time passion
and "OUREE" mean Away