The Boilermaker

“The Boilermaker” is a statue here at Purdue among many others symbolizing what Purdue is all about. This statue is 18 feet tall, weighs about 5,400, and is made of bronze. The statue was dedicated in honor of Eugene R. Grotnes and his family for their strong ties to Purdue and was dedicated in memory of Grotnes’ father, Carl. Former Purdue President, Martin C. Jischke said, “The Grotnes family represents the same roll-up-your-sleeves and get-the-job-done attitude that ‘The Boilermaker’ depicts. It is this tireless work ethic and intergenerational Purdue pride that we will celebrate.” The statue cost about $500,000 and took almost two years to complete!

According to Purdue News, Eugene Grotnes of Atlanta, Georgia graduated from Purdue with a mechanical engineering degree in 1951. His father, Carl C. Grotnes, was born in in Chicago, Illinois in 1895. Together Carl and his father, Charles joined in business to develop some of the first machines for producing rims for the automobile, truck, and agricultural industries. In the 1940’s more than 90 percent of rims in the United States were produced on their machines! Carl continued to invent new machines as the times changed and was recognized by Rice University in Houston for his contribution to the industry.

With every new statue that I look at, its amazing to see just how much history is behind it. Its really cool to see just how prestigious and world-renowned Purdue actually is!

Inside the world of Apparel Design

When I tell people that I am majoring in Apparel Design I usually get two different responses. The first one being, "Oh that's cool, what's that?" or "SO why are you going to Purdue, isn't it an engineering school?" Yes Purdue is known for its top in the nation engineering program, but does anyone know how amazing the Apparel Design and Technology program is? Well I have decided to make it known. Being a student in that major I know how much time and skill and talent goes into making this program sucessful. I want to expose it to my readers and other students so they can learn more about Apparel Design!

Every year Purdue Fashion Association puts on a Spring Fashion show. The show is open to the public and gives aspiring designers a chance to be exposed. Before coming to Purdue I never really apperciated all the hard work that goes into producing a fashion show. I have been in a few at my highschool wdere I got to walk across our auditorium in my home made dress, but nothing to the caliber of what is produced here at Purdue.

You better believe that this years show has been in the works minutes after last years show concluded. Everything from hiring models, dj, lights and sound, to designing the garnments is already beginning! It's a long but exciting process. My goal for this semester is to walk you, the reader, step by step to see all the work that goes into the Spring Fashion Show! Along the way I will through in other blogs about interesting topics but for the most part I want to focus on fashion. This is something I have always been very passionate about and want others to see all that hard work that goes into my major.

Right now as a designer we are beginning our first sketches. Some of my sketches I will never use but others will be made into beautiful garnments that will walk down the runway this spring! In my apparel construction class each week we are given an inspiration or an object that we are supposed to create into a garment. It actually reminds me a lot of this purpose of this blog, taking an everyday object and apperciating it for its beauty. I have learned to do this better through this class. Here are a few of my inspirations turned into sketches!

One Giant Leap

If you’re a student here at Purdue, there’s no way you could have missed the big statue of Neil Armstrong right outside none other than the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering. The 8 foot tall, 125 percent scale, bronze sculpture sits right behind the new arc at Stadium and Northwestern. Trailing along behind it is a number of sculpted moon boot impressions made from a REAL moon boot given to the university by the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. How cool is that!? These some 20 moon boot impressions are parallel to the walkway and are spaced just right to show the idea of a “leaping moon walker”. These moon boot impressions give us the chance as students here at Purdue to literally “walk in the footsteps” of a great astronaut. I've always seen the sculpture but I'd never even seen the moonboots before! Thats crazy! Artist Chas Fagan did a great job with detail in the sculpture. He made the retired astronaut look as if he was on his way to class, being a former student at Purdue. The statue is wearing a button down shirt, khaki pants, penny loafers, and a typical button down college windbreaker (well, at least typical for the 1950’s…). The artist got to meet with Neil Armstrong himself to get input from him in the design of the statue. There were no pictures of Armstrong’s profile before the making of this sculpture so when Fagan met with him he took pictures of his face in different angles to make sure it was as life-like as possible. Although Mr. Armstrong is much older than the time this statue recreates, the profile of someone’s face never changes so Fagan was able to create an image of what he looked like in the 1950’s.

In honor of Neil Armstrong’s accomplishments, this statue was unveiled at a dedication ceremony for the new engineering research and education building and named after him for being the first astronaut to walk on the moon. When President of the university, France A. Cordova was asked about the sculpture she said, “When our students see this sculpture, I hope they’ll believe that they, like Mr. Armstrong, can achieve the unimaginable. I hope it will inspire them to reach for the stars.” There’s so much history here, I can’t believe it! Pretty cool, huh?

Vroom Vroom Waltz

Last year when I was a freshman, I obviously didn't have my car and was forced to walk to wherever I wanted to go. This year, being a sophomore, I have my car here at school and have been forced to learn the intricate "dance" that Purdue pedestrians and drivers demonstrate every day. I like to refer to it as the Vroom Vroom Waltz, and I didn't realize just how detailed it is until this year. Just like any art form, your first year here at Purdue is all about getting to know the basics. First, you must learn that, when walking, it is absolutely imperative that you look before you cross the street. I know, sounds obvious, but when there is a biker coming from one direction and a car from the other, you have to be able to think quickly about what you will do and where you want to go. You must learn the basics to move on to a higher skill level. If you do not learn this step you run the risk of injury, even death. Not only do you have to look around you when you cross a street, but also if you decide to go off the strait walking line you are taking to class, because if not you WILL be hit by a biker. You also learn that when crossing the street you must get as close to the cars as you can (without touching them) as they pass you. This optimises the walking time and in the end will save you about 10 seconds of getting to class. It is actually a lot harder than it looks because it is almost impossible to judge where the car will go next. Will they turn? Change lanes? Speed up? Attempt to purposely run you over? In my eyes, this is a totally legitimate way of getting where you want to go without annoying the drivers at all. In fact, we LOVE it when there are so many people walking around our cars that is is literally impossible to move the car an inch without facing some sort of lawsuit! It's our favorite part of this little dance. So... let's review so far.... 1. Look before you cross the street (or for random bikers on campus). 2. Get as close to the moving cars as possible while waiting to cross the street. 3. If you are in a group of people, crowd around the car so it is impossible for it to move. All of these things so far together paint a gorgeous picture of multicolored Purdue University shirts and who-knows-what colors and types of cars. If you look at State St. on any given day, you can witness this Purdue mosaic.

So, now that I have taught you the basics, let's move on to year 2. You have your car and you are so excited! I mean, it's not that hard to drive through campus.... right? The easiest of the second year steps to learn is the stop lights. They tell you when and where you can go, when you have to wait for cars, and when you have to wait for the walkers. This is actually one of the most important parts of the dance, because without the stop lights driving would be an absolute nightmare and nearly impossible on some parts of campus! It is the stop lights that actually create the dance. First it goes, Red, Red, Red, GREEN! But wait, left hand turn. Creep, creep, ccrreeeeeeepp with your car. Let cars pass. Cars turning right, left, going strait, WRONG WAY! People pass. Slowly, slowly, ssllooooowwllyy... people pass.  Speed up quickly as to get through the light before it goes green, green, yellow, RED! Slam on your breaks as you get through the light, because there are wonderful pedestrians adding to the beauty of the dance right in front of you (and almost all over the hood of your car)!  As you proceed down the street, the weaving waltz continues.  In every gap of people walking in the street you will think it is an opportunity to speed up a little as to get to your destination faster. WRONG!  The second your foot touches that gas pedal a dancer will spin out in front of you, doing one of the most beautiful things of all... actually crawling across the street! 

Last, but far from least, there are the absolutely fantastic ONE WAY streets that Purdue is notorious for.  I must say, this is positively my favorite part of the Vroom Vroom Waltz.  Once you have gotten around the charming pedestrians, bikers, and all others on foot, you may think the best part is behind you.  Once again, you would be wrong, my friend.  The best is yet to come!  If you are a new driver to Purdue, you may think that you can get to where you want to go with the most logical routes possible.  Instead what you will find is an intricate, complicated, obviously thoroughly planned out way to get to your destination.  For example, traveling East on state street, you might think, "Hey, I need to go somewhere on Russell. Let's turn left..."  This would be impossible considering Russell is a one way street and you will end up creating a new dance all together if you try to go that way... it's called involuntary manslaughter, and that would be an entirely different blog in itself.  With the Vroom Vroom Waltz you must be very creative in finding alternative routes to get to where you need to be.  

So let's review one more time.  First year, learn how to cross the street without dying and still find a way to surround stopped cars... they love it!  Second year, learn how to waltz without bumping in to anyone, and avoid all lawsuits.  Lastly, master the one way streets as to again avoid any lawful situations.  Now that I have given you a crash course in Vroom Vroom Waltzing, let's get out there and do that dance!

Calling all "Pretty" People

We need tall, short, dark hair, little hair, tan skin, pale skin... you name it we could use you! That's right you don't need to be 5'11 and weight 101 pounds for this show. All you need is a confidence, a strong walk, and an eye for fashion. What show am I talking about about? The annual spring Fashion Show put on by the Purdue Fashion Association.

On Sunday September 28, PFA will be holding a models callout. This is your time to show your personal style and strut your stuff and even possibly be cast in the 2009 spring Fashion Show!

Here are the details!

When: Sunday, September 28
Time: 2:00 PM
Where: Matthews Hall- Room 201

Dress to impress and bring heels because you will be walking! We also need more male models!

The Purdue Fashion Show is a great way to get involved! It isn't a huge time commitment but I gurantee every minute you put into this event is well worth it! There are two showings in the Spring. Last year we held our show at the Shively Press Box. It was an incredible view of the field and of all the amazing garments created all by aspiring designers here at Purdue University.

If you don't think modeling in the show is for you, atleast grab a ticket and come see all the excitment that the Purdue Fashion Association will be showing! Don't you worry, I will for sure be keeping you updated when it comes closer to the show and tickets go on sale! But if always dreamed of being on the cover of Vogue or appearing in a TV commercial, but never quite lived out your dream because someone said you were too short or the camera adds 10 pounds... FORGET about them and come live your dream on the Purdue Fashion Associations Runway!

DON'T FORGET...
Sunday September 28 @ 2 pm
Matthews Hall Room 201

Time to Strut your STUFF!

Nothing Prettier Than This

A see of black and gold, one of my favorite images at Purdue. It all happens every home football game. One of my favorite moments of my college career was my first official football game as a student. Growing up, I would always go with my parents to Purdue games. We had killer seats with the John Purdue Club, but I can't even begin to compare my fifty yard line tickets with my crammed, sun baked seats in the student section. What could be better?

My favorite days at Purdue are game days. I love all the school spirit. You walk down the street and you see a guy dressed up like Christopher Robins from Winnie the Pooh who is best friends with the Joker. You can't find the companionship just anywhere. Between the breakfast clubbers and the see of black and gold, I am honored to say we have one of the most amazing and spirited student sections.

I still recall that very first day when I walked in with my student ID in hand into section 109 at Ross Aid Stadium. Nothing can prepare you for Boilermaker football. As cheesy as it sounds, I believe our student section is one of the prettiest things at Purdue University. It's amazing to see all grades and all different types of students come together for cheer on one team. Every Saturday I get a great deal of school pride.

And that is why I choose to include these images. I find them beautiful, black and gold body paint and all!

Famous Fountains

The time has come, my friends.  We all knew it was coming.... the fountain entry!  As we all know, we have some pretty awesome fountains here at Purdue.  And being from Kansas City (nicknamed the city of fountains) I can always appreciate a good fountain to look at/fun through/play in.  First of all, we have the engineering fountain.  It's located in the middle of campus and is possibly one of the most foot-traffic areas on all of campus.  I remember last year one of my friends (who does not go to purdue) asked me what that flash mob was all about.  As you can imagine I was very confused, so I asked him to elaborate.  "You know, it was by the big Atari symbol thing."  It had never occured to me that it resembled that until he said it, but now every time I walk by it or see it in the Exponent that's all I can think about.  It's not until you get closer that you can see all the complex details and cool designs ingrained into the sides and swoops.  I am not sure if they mean anything, or if they are purely there for design reasons.  Either way I think it was a good idea and whoever designed it really knew what they were doing.  Next is the Loeb fountain located next the Beering Hall.  Although I think this is the prettier of the two, if I had to choose to go on a fountain run in one, I would definitely have to choose the Engineering fountain.  I feel like when I run through the Loeb fountain I get extra super soaked and get thrown around by the water.  I feel more like I'm going through a hurricane rather than doing a fountain run.  But then again that is why so many people like the Loeb fountain, so i guess it's just a matter of preference.  Don't get me wrong though, I do love this one too.  I think its surroundings are gorgeous and I like the concrete benches you can sit on.  I feel like the design of where the water shoots is what really makes this one beautiful.  The Engineering fountain relies mostly on its own structure, but the Loeb fountain relies on what the water itself is doing.  The simplicity of it is something that I also find very appealing.  Overall I would say this one is my favorite because it is the most fun for me to look at! 

Lastly there is the one that not a lot of people know about.  It is the one located next to the John Purdue grave.  You can't fun through it, but it offers a peaceful and quiet area to relax or study.  In my opinion it is very pretty, and the attention to detail the creator put into it is great also.  

Overall our campus has some really cool fountains (as you can see), and once again I am going to suggest that you check them out now before the cold winter months come and takes them away.