Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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STEVE HETER LIVES ON A farm east of Alta Vista where his goats and bicycle creations keep him Heter ' s favorite bikes were the longhorn, left, the marlin, center, and his first bike, the fluorescent orange bicycle in the window. (Photo by Mike Venso) INSIDE THE SCULPTURE studio in West Stadium, Heter moves the broken hook of his bitchy witch dipper. Heter spent several hours a week working on wood, metal, stone and his bicycle sculptures. (Photo by Mike Venso)

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ART HAS SNAP Artist fashions unique sculptures BY TODD FLEISCHER MARLIN sits at rest, waiting for its rider, despite curious glances and questions of bewildered onlookers. They come closer but it remains still, its brilliantly colored fins standing at attention like sails billowing in the wind. Suddenly, the marlin ' s rider appears and mounts the beast. They take off across campus, sending students scurrying out in front of them, eager to avoid the marlin ' s dangerous beak. Now wait a minute. Marlins in landlocked Kansas? No way. This was a scene from a science fiction movie, right? No, this was real. At least for senior Steve Heter. The 33—year-old art major often rode his marlin to class. And when he got bored with that, he rode his coral-colored longhorn, which was complete with gun and holster. In case anyone was wondering, Heter ' s trusty steeds were not actually living members of the animal kingdom. Rather, they were bicycles that were modified to what he called functional art. Because of an accident he was in while riding his bike, he wanted a bike that would be noticed. After several attempts, he created a fluorescent orange bike. At school, you don ' t usually see art, he said. This is really nice because you can have a bicycle that is a sculpture. Displaying sculpture was not unusual for Heter, as his abilities did not stop with his unique bikes. In fact, his bikes make up only a small portion of his total collection. His sculptures ranged from an inverted steeple pointing down through his bedroom to a curved piece of hedge which he called the bitchy witch dipper. His creations demonstrated one facet of his philosophy on life. Enjoying life was very important, and he hoped his works enhanced the enjoyment of other people, he said. The students clear out of its way as the beast and its rider come to a halt. The rider and the beast sits idle, drawing stares and comments from onlookers. It remains still, though, waiting for its master to take it on another SCULPTOR STEVE Heter, senior in art, shaves the bark of a hedge tree in the sunlight at West Stadium. Behind him is one of his latest pieces, the bitchy witch dipper. (Photo by Mike Venso) THE SCRAP HEAP AT the art studio in West Stadium is where Heter finds things to put within his sculptures. Heter pulled out these nails in hope that they would fit within his creation. (Photo by Mike Venso)

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IN FULL BLOOM Flower beds enhance horticulture labs BY RENEE MARTIN INSTRUCTIONS were simple: study the plant samples and identify the distinguishing characteristics. But for the students in Mary Albrecht ' s bedding and foliage class, the produced only puzzled looks. The divided into small groups, sat quietly staring at the plant life in front of them. Albrecht broke the silence. You know, just at the names won ' t help you identify them, she said. Albrecht roamed from group to group and dropped various hints. Why don ' t you check the nodes? she asked a group who had run out of different characteristics to examine. Each member of the group intently studied the carnation ' s nodes, but they waited for Albrecht to move on before What does she mean about the nodes? a woman asked. After a few more minutes of deep discussion on the nodes, Albrecht came to the group ' s rescue, pointing out that one plant had very swollen nodes, while the other plant ' s were less That ' s what we thought, a man said. But we thought that it was too obvious to be right. No matter how or subtle the were, students in Albrecht ' s class learned to rely on visual inspection. The class, which was required for most horticulture majors, familiarized students with various forms of plant life. The main purpose of the class is plant Albrecht said. We probably cover approximately 200 plants that the students learn. I want them to have a working knowledge of plant material, understand the concept of working with a local grower and understand how plants are produced and said Albrecht. After discussing the differences, the class fi led out to the flower beds north of Throckmorton Hall. The beds served as a laboratory where students studied plants in their natural environment. Albrecht continued her lecture from the middle of the bed, pointing out the plants her class had inside. She said the bed, blossoming with different flowers, was vital to her class. It ' s better to have the plants in the beds so students can see how they look in the Albrecht said. With the beds, we get to see them growing in their natural state, said Bryan Lappin, junior in It ' s much better to see them alive and growing than to look at an old, dried specimen. WITH MORE THAN 200 plants to identify, the plants in a landscape is vital in learning the plants ' characteristics. (Photo by Christopher T. Assaf)