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18 July 2005
Master Calendar
FESTIVALS
JULY 31
Obon Festival in Salinas. Buddhist Temple of Salinas, 14 California St. Food, music, martial arts, dancing, tea ceremony, San Jose Taiko, Ikebana and bonsai exhibits. 424-4105.
Students Take Up Aeromodelling, Bonsai Planting As Part Of CCAs
SINGAPORE : Schools are updating their co-curricular activities to teach students valuable life lessons beyond the classroom. Flying miniature aeroplanes takes skill, teamwork and dedication. But it is the practical nature of this CCA that got students hooked. Tiffany Alice Ramalingam, Member of Aeromodelling Club at Northbrooks Secondary School, said: "The one thing I enjoy is building the plane because it always makes me use my hands and I like to work with my hands a lot." Aviation design and art are taught through building and painting scaled-down models of real-life planes. Northbrooks is one of 21 schools in Singapore offering aeromodelling as one of its CCAs. And staff say normal and technical stream students thrive in this hands-on learning environment. Chua Sau Chuan, Head of Aeromodelling CCA at Northbrooks Secondary School, said: "After they get involved in this CCA, we see a lot of changes in them. They take things more seriously, especially they take their own initiative to come down to the workshop and build their planes by themselves." The club's high-fliers now compete at the national level and the school hopes it could eventually lead to jobs in the aviation industry. Even beginners can manage a lap on their own with some good training. At Hua Yi Secondary School, students are kept busy looking after more than 200 bonsai trees. The school started the garden in 1968 as part of the government's "Use Your Hands Campaign" and some of the trees are more than 30 years old. Kong Yen Fong, Principal of Hua Yi Secondary School, said: "They require a lot of tender loving care, so in the course of their CCAs they have to put in a lot of time and effort nurturing the plants, and we hope that along the way they learn to appreciate patience, perseverance and commitment in completing tasks." The students use their artistic eye to shape the trees and the unusual miniatures draw in members. Debra Cheah, Chairman of Bonsai Club at Hua Yi Secondary School, said: "I was curious as it Is a different CCA from other schools. It is not sports, and I love plants and science." With all the green fingers hard at work, the bonsai garden has a good chance of thriving for another 30 years. - CNA/de
DEEP CUT BONSAI SOCIETY meets on the third Thursday (except December and January) at King of Kings Lutheran Church, 250 Harmony Road. Call (732) 303-1912.
Japan Is The Difference And The Difference Is Good
Japan was a land far away, at the end of the map before I come here. A big manufacturer of electronic products and cars. Manga, cartoons, bonsai trees, sumo wrestlers were other thinks that come to my mind when I think of Japan. Oh, also the Turkish film "Japon isi (Japanese made)" by the legendary Turkish actor Kemal Sunal. This film was about a poor waiter who fell in love with the singer where he works (night club). Of course the singer (Fatma Girik) is rich and has a boyfriend who is the head of a mafia gang. The waiter (Kemal Sunal) is poor. One day a Japanese tourist comes to the night club. This Japanese guy, after drinking too much, gets assaulted by robbers while he tries to get back to his hotel. So the waiter finds and takes him to his house. Takes care of the tourist for sometime. Japanese tourist, who is an engineer, after getting back to his country, sends a robot of the singer to express his gratitude for what waiter has done to him. So a series of funny event happen, it is a nice film.
Today -- "Garden Ideas From Around the World," 2-3 p.m., at Weyerhaeuser's Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection. Address: 33663 Weyerhaeuser Way S., Federal Way. Part of the Federal Way Symphony's sixth annual Garden Tour, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., a self-guided tour of five local gardens and the bonsai collection. Cost: $18, including tour. Tour starting point is the Metro Market, 1618 S.W. Dash Point Road. Information: 253-529-9857, www.federalwaysymphony.org
Ranchers may not think there's anything arty about mesquite. But the pasture pest is shaped into works of serene beauty at Jade Gardens. This nursery specializes in tiny trees known as bonsai. Owners Chuck and Pat Ware painstakingly create miniature replicas of full-size trees using Central and South Texas plants: Texas ebony, sweet gum, mustang grape, Texas ash. They also work with traditional plants such as pine, maple and bamboo. On display are more than 150 examples. The art of bonsai is not just keeping the tree small but also in producing a dwarf with the exact proportions of a full-size tree and in selecting an appropriate container for each tree. Along with single plants, the nursery features elaborate miniature landscapes made from multiple bonsai arranged with rock formations into scenes that mimic nature.
The gardens generally are open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free. 12404 Ranch Road 12; 512-847-2514. Technorati TAGS:
Having been to most of the big East Coast flower shows, I thought I’d seen everything gardeners could show off. Everything from artichokes to zinnias. Bonsai, orchids and ikebana. Topiary ducks the size of Humvees. Cacti, lilies, clematis. Roses and rock gardens. Big flower arrangements and small.
You get the idea.
Then I went to the San Francisco Flower Show and saw suiseki (pronounced soo-ee-sek-ee).
Suiseki is a Japanese art form, and it’s one step beyond bonsai. Bonsai is the art of growing miniature trees, and often includes making them look old and stressed, like trees growing on the top of a mountain, for example. Suiseki is the minimalist’s bonsai: It is bonsai without the tree. That’s right. It’s just a stone. But these are special stones that evoke mountain tops or rugged islands, stones with character and spirit.
According to Frank Mather of Walnut Creek, Calif., suiseki is a way to bring the outdoors inside. As a member of the California Suiseki Society, he was at the San Francisco Flower Show to answer questions and keep an eye on the suiseki, which can be worth thousands of dollars to collectors.
Most of the stones at the show were cut with a diamond-studded wire saw to give each a flat base. They ranged in size from 8 to 18 inches long, 4 to 8 inches wide and were no more than 6 inches off the table top. Mather explained that according to the traditions of suiseki, the stones may not be polished or shaped. Cutting the stones is allowed, but not required, and uncut stones are preferred. Stones may develop a patina over time if rubbed by hand, but no polishing compounds, waxes or buffers can be used.
Each stone at the show was sitting on a “daiza,” or wooden stand. Typically of black walnut, each stand is carved and shaped to fit the exact contours of the stone it will support. Wood rises like a lip containing the stone, and each stands on short feet, holding it up just above the table. It is important that the daiza not compete with the stone, but support it quietly. Another approach is to set a suiseki stone in a “suiban,” or ceramic tray that is lined with white sand. Suiban are readily available from bonsai dealers.
Suiseki stones are available for purchase starting at $50 and going up to $3,000 each, but for Mather the joy of a suiseki is also involved with discovering a stone in nature and seeing its potential. He and club members collect them along rivers or in the mountains where water has worn them smooth. “It’s like going fishing,” he said. “You may not catch anything that day, but you’re almost never sorry you went.”
Evaluating stones in the field is a learned process known as “kawa dojo,” or classroom of the riverbank. Sometimes one must be willing to carry a large stone a long distance in order to bring home something that may or may not end up as a good suiseki stone. Often only a small portion of a stone might end up being used, the tip of the iceberg, if you will.
Mather also explained that, for him, finding a stone provides a strong connection to it. His stones bring him back to the mountains where he collected them, allowing him to visit the mountains every day.
“I get up in the morning and walk down the hall. The soft sidelight on a suiseki placed in a window reveals the textures and contours of the suiseki. It’s like you’re in the mountains. And I can literally do that every day.” But, he added, “It only works for some people.”
Deciding how a stone is cut – and at what angle – is also part of the pleasure. Mather once had a stone for five years before he saw just how to cut it to create a good suiseki. Once cut and mounted, the suiseki are displayed as if they were buried in the earth with just a portion above ground. Some suiseki stones conjure up mountains, islands, rivers – or even human or animal figures.
Cutting a suiseki stone is not an inexpensive proposition. You can bring a stone to a monument cutter, but by the time a stone is cut, you may have $200 to $300 invested. As an alternative, Mather explained, you might join a gem club, as it sometimes has machines available to members to use for cutting stones.
The type of stone used is important. Granite, for example, is not often used, as it tends to weather into spheres as opposed to the complicated, angular shapes favored for suiseki. Serpentine and jadeite are good stones for suiseki, and one stone on display in San Francisco consisted of limestone with igneous intrusions.
Good suiseki can be as timeless and satisfying as a Henry Moore or Giacometti sculpture, only more personal. I’d like to find a good stone this summer, and bring it inside. I’ll not cut it or carve a base for it, but will set it in a bed of sand in an appropriate ceramic basin. In a land of snow and cold, there is definitely something appealing about the idea of bringing the outdoors inside. And suiseki doesn’t require weeding or watering.
The 17th Street Farmers' Market, 17th and Main streets, is open 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. today (Growers' Market), 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday (Mucho Market) and 8:30 a.m. -2 p.m. Sunday (Shockoe Flea). Parking is available at the lots at 17th and Franklin streets and 18th and Grace streets. The market is open rain or shine. Many special activities are scheduled. Here is a list of growers and food purveyors bringing their goods to the market through this weekend. Those listed below will be at the market on the days that appear at the end of each entry. Local artisans and crafters also sell their wares each week.
ALCJR Enterprises -- Bonsai starter plant arrangements ($21.95), three sizes of decorative potted aloe vera "medicine" plants ($7.25-$15.95), tillandsia plant arrangements ($5.25-$59.95). (Thursday)
STONE SOCIETY MEETING. Members of the Natural Stone Society of the Philippines will meet on Saturday, July 23, at 2 p.m. at the gound floor of FMSG Building, 9 Balete Drive corner 3rd Street, New Manila, Quezon City.
According to Yumie Gupit, NSSP corresponding secretary, arrangement is being made for a geologist to be a resource speaker during the meeting. He could teach the members how to identify and possibly estimate the age of the stones in the members’ collection. One member, Li Viju will also be on hand to share his knowledge as he has dealt with natural precious and semi-precious stones in his adult life.
Members are enjoined to bring stone samplings to be shown to the experts for comment. Mrs. Fely S. Gupit, NSSP president, will also show some stones from Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan aside from local stones.
Also to be discussed during the meeting is the Stone Fun Hunt in August. Mrs. Gupit will also discuss the invitation she received regarding the Suiseki Show in Beijing, China, in September on the occasion of the Asia Pacific Bonsai & Suiseki Convention.
STONE SOCIETY MEETING. Members of the Natural Stone Society of the Philippines will meet on Saturday, July 23, at 2 p.m. at the gound floor of FMSG Building, 9 Balete Drive corner 3rd Street, New Manila, Quezon City.
According to Yumie Gupit, NSSP corresponding secretary, arrangement is being made for a geologist to be a resource speaker during the meeting. He could teach the members how to identify and possibly estimate the age of the stones in the members’ collection. One member, Li Viju will also be on hand to share his knowledge as he has dealt with natural precious and semi-precious stones in his adult life.
Members are enjoined to bring stone samplings to be shown to the experts for comment. Mrs. Fely S. Gupit, NSSP president, will also show some stones from Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan aside from local stones.
Also to be discussed during the meeting is the Stone Fun Hunt in August. Mrs. Gupit will also discuss the invitation she received regarding the Suiseki Show in Beijing, China, in September on the occasion of the Asia Pacific Bonsai & Suiseki Convention.
These heat-loving plants will thrive during humid dog days of summer
Bougainvillea: An evergreen vine, this plant is happy spreading up, down or horizontally. It’s thorny, likes full sun, should be watered lightly and comes in a rainbow of colors. Makes an excellent bonsai specimen.
Obon Festival in Salinas. Buddhist Temple of Salinas, 14 California St. Food, music, martial arts, dancing, tea ceremony, San Jose Taiko, Ikebana and bonsai exhibits. 424-4105.
California is a hotbed for aficionados of suiseki -- the Asian practice of appreciating naturally formed stones as art
The phrase "stone cold" holds no meaning for Felix Rivera, who was so hot one day for a particular stone covered by 6 inches of the Eel River that he broke his ankle trying to fetch it. "The ankle snapped and I was all alone, so I crawled out on my hands and knees," says Rivera, 66. Seven screws and five years later, a tone of wistfulness still seeps into his voice as he remembers. His effort, he seems to think, may have been worthwhile. "After I got out, I looked back down at it," he says. "It was a nice stone." The river kept that one but continues to yield other prized pieces of serpentine and jasper to Rivera and the field collectors who gravitate to his California Suiseki Society and also the older San Francisco Suiseki Kai and oldest Kashu Suiseki Kai of Palo Alto, all of which are dedicated to the ancient Chinese, Korean and especially Japanese appreciation of naturally formed stones as works of art. Rivera, Puerto Rican by way of New York City, now living in Albany and teaching social work at San Francisco State University, has been spreading a gospel that he couldn't even translate until he discovered suiseki at a Los Angeles bonsai show in the 1960s. The stones there didn't leave him cold. Formed by and shaped by the forces of oceans, streams, sands and winds, they evoked mountains and rivers and islands, and stirred a passion that would lead him to write two books, countless articles and a Web site full of material on suiseki. "Well, this is America, right? The salad?" Rivera says. "I get such a kick out of it when people hear me talking the way I do about suiseki and they think I'm Japanese -- except for my name." Well, there are some Japanese who believe that to be a suiseki (soo-ee- SECK-ee), a stone must come from Japan. Rivera points out that the word means "water stone." His preferred interpretation, based on his findings: "A suiseki is a suiseki because it evokes certain powers of suggestion in the viewer." Like art, suiseki can seem abstract or realistic, beautiful or ugly. Where one may delight in a stone that models a many-layered mountain range glistening in the sun, another eye may stray down the river to a flatter, darker stone evoking a cloud-covered plateau. Beautiful? Ugly? These terms are not among a long list of rules and criteria followed by traditional Japanese teachers of suiseki. The Web site www.suiseki.com, for instance, details dozens of classifications for scenic landscape stones, from the mountain stones to the sand dune stones and every geological feature in between. Then there are classifications by color, surface pattern and place of origin. Most places of origin listed on the Web site are in Japan, but others include the Eel in Northern California, Murphys (Calaveras County) and the Ligurian Alps of Italy. The 65-member California Suiseki Society's annual exhibition last month showcased stones from all three of the Western locations, including two limestone suiseki that Rivera brought back from Italy. "There is a Western influence, which we cannot avoid because we're here," Rivera says. "There is a Japanese influence, which in a way we can avoid, because we're not in Japan, unless we choose to embrace it." In California, for instance, stones tend to have a more bulbous quality and often have extraneous growths that need to be cut, a practice frowned upon by some in traditional suiseki circles. They also run larger than the suiseki in Japan and contain a larger range of colors, including jaspers and jadeites. The dramatically colored serpentine stone of the West and the unique Murphys stone, mostly limestone with quartz inclusions, have come to be prized by Japanese collectors. "Northern California is really the treasure spot of suiseki," says Hideko Metaxas, longtime member of the San Francisco club and friend of Rivera. "Other states have rivers, too, but they have restrictions on taking stones, or the quality of the stone is not suitable for suiseki. It just happens that Northern California stones are similar to Japanese suiseki in hardness, color and shape." Metaxas' club held its meetings in Japanese for many years before going bilingual recently, but she says the club continues to adhere to traditional Japanese suiseki rules while Rivera's group, she says, "is more open to your own adaptation." Rivera's group does embrace the Japanese school of suiseki's traditional, uniquely Asian values, which include shibui (a sort of restrained elegance), yugan (a veiled magnificence) and, especially, wabi-sabi -- "the imperfect as beautiful, the ugly as beautiful, an appreciation of impermanence," Rivera says. And so, on a typical spring trip to some secret spot on the Eel or the Klamath, the field collector who finds a new treasure shows it to a companion, who at first critiques the stone's technical qualities and then begins to look at what some might describe as its magic, others might find as meaning. A few of the stones make the trip back to the Bay Area and then find a place on a deck or windowsill, where the collector can watch it from various angles and determine whether to cut it and mount it on a stand, called a daiza, or, if it represents an island, on a water tray, called a suiban. By now, the stone has come to life. And the collector will caress the piece over tonight's episode of "Law and Order," naturally enhancing its patina with the oils from the hands. "Aesthetically, it's fascinating to bring a stone home and try to get a suiseki out of it," says Frank Mathers, who joined the club almost 10 years ago. "There are 10 million stones out there. You sort of stop as you see something that looks good. If you really like it, you bring it home. But I probably only have 20 to 25 stones that represent what I consider to be suiseki. I have a yard full of about 20 stones I had cut, then decided they weren't worth making a base for, then another two to three hundred I decided were not even worth cutting." Mather displayed one of the most talked-about stones last month, mounted on a bowl-shaped base rather than the usual flat daiza and including a figure of a monk. "I found it at the water's edge at the Eel River," he says. "It weighed about 70 pounds, so you'd think twice about schlepping it out of there, so it was unusual from the beginning. I brought it home to play with it and figure out what I was doing with it. "What I saw was a stream across the top, a surface of water with ripples through it. Putting a person on it gave a sense of scale to it." Mathers' suiseki and presentation provided plenty of conversational fodder for club members, and that was a fine thing for this group of people who share a soft spot for hard rock.
A "Bonsai Art Exhibit," featuring dwarf trees grown according to ancient Japanese artistic principles, will be on view July 16-17, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Quadrangle on Edwards Street in downtown Springfield. Admission to the show is free. About 100 tiny arboreal landscapes will be on view in the Quadrangle show, including pines, junipers, boxwood, barberry, ficus, pomegranate and umbrella trees. The process of bonsai requires constant attention to the trees as they grow. Wiring, pinching and regular fertilizing help achieve the desired shape. Every other year the miniatures must be pruned and re-potted. Trees in the "Bonsai Art Exhibit" will be less than 20 inches high, according to Sumner ("Sandy") Saffer of Agawam, vice president of the society. Douglas Taylor of Agawam, president of the society, will be showing one of his own favorite bonsai plants, an 18-inch-tall American larch tree. His miniature landscape will have a dwarf horsetail next to the tree. "The larch grows mostly in bogs," Taylor explains, which is also where horsetail grows. A two-hour workshop on bonsai will also be offered both days, Saturday from 10-noon and 1-3 p.m., and Sunday at 1-3 p.m. Admission to the workshop is $25. Plant, pot and wire will be provided, and participants can take the materials home with them at the end of the workshop. Advance registration for the workshop is required. Registration forms are available at the East Springfield Flower Shop, 548 Page Blvd., Springfield, or by calling (413) 783-7273. "The workshop will be taught by club members with many years of experience," says Taylor, adding that amateurs with ailing bonsai plants are invited to bring them in for expert advice. The Bonsai Society meets every third Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. from September to June at Springfield Technical Community College on State Street in Springfield. Annual dues are $25 per individual, $35 per family. Founded in 1988, the society has given demonstrations at the Big E in West Springfield, Berkshire Botanical Gardens in Stockbridge, Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston and at many schools and garden clubs in Western Massachusetts. The event is sponsored by the Bonsai Society of Greater Springfield, which has 35 members from Amherst, Springfield, Ludlow, Hampden and other towns in the Pioneer Valley, as well as Hartford.
July 16 -- "Garden Ideas From Around the World," 2-3 p.m., at Weyerhaeuser's Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection. Address: 33663 Weyerhaeuser Way S., Federal Way. Part of the Federal Way Symphony's Sixth Annual Garden Tour, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., a self-guided tour of five local gardens and the bonsai collection. Cost: $18, including tour. Tour starting point is the Metro Market, 1618 S.W. Dash Point Road. Information: 253-529-9857, www.federalwaysymphony.org
Time To Give Your Houseplants A Little Extra Attention
Almost all of you have a few houseplants. Then there are crazies such as me who have more than 100. If this keeps up, we’re going to be living on the porch and the dog will feel like a monkey in the jungle. Anyway, summer is a great time to do your plants a favor. First, think about how they live — trapped in a pot, same old soil for years, built-up fertilizer salts. I’m sure they’re jealous of their cousins happily growing outside, at least until the frost hits. Most houseplants are tropicals, so the dog-as-jungle-monkey analogy is not totally ridiculous. In jungles and rainforests, many of these guys grow to tree size. We were in the U.S. Virgin Islands a few years ago and were astounded to see gigantic versions of the same plants we had growing in our sunroom. The 40-foot jade plants stick in my mind. One wonders how these plants survive in our houses, but they’ve adapted well. They do need some help, and now is a good time to give it. Bring them outside on a sunny, warm day. Spread some newspaper on your patio table and go into plant-doctor mode, giving each one a physical exam. I start with my pruner, trimming old, yellow leaves and uncontrolled growth. Our three jades continually point to the sun in the windows, sending out shoots that unbalance them and simply don’t look nice. Pruning is a lot like bonsai, restoring a natural symmetry and balance. If you’re into propagation, these cuttings are a gold mine. Most tropical trimmings will grow when stuck into a new pot with good potting soil. You will need to dip the cut stems in rooting hormone. Otherwise, they may mold and rot. Hormone, available in garden stores, halts that and give the cuttings a fair chance to root. I use them to replace older plants that are spent. But my main use is as cheap Christmas presents. By December, they will be viable. Placed in decorative pots, they are welcome gifts. After trimming, I check the soil. If it looks good, without severe compacting or that nasty, white residue on top from fertilizer (it’s salt), I top dress it with potting soil. When you water it, this will send nutrients to the roots and rejuvenate the old soil. If the old soil looks hopeless, I’ll repot in new. Another problem to diagnose is called pot bound. Tropicals grow fast over the year and often outgrow their containers. Evidence of this is roots extending out the drainage hole and plants that suddenly wilt and need a lot more water to keep the soil moist. Sometimes, pot bound is good, at least for a while. Flowering will be increased, due to plant energy going to blossoms instead of root production. The roots are trapped. Eventually, your friend will need a larger home. The rule here is to choose a pot that is half-again as large as the old one. Too large will cut its leaf and flower production, as the roots will consume most of the growth. Be sure to use good potting soil, light, fluffy stuff that includes vermiculite or perlite, those white or silver pellets that help maintain drainage and oxygen in the soil. Cheap potting soil is heavy and wet in the bag. It stunts more plants than it grows. Most tropicals hate wet feet and need large amounts of oxygen at the roots to support growth. Finding the right pots is fun. Decorative ones can be expensive in stores. I check garage sales and flea markets for them, and rarely pay more than a dollar, even for large ones. I stay away from unglazed terra-cotta, the old-fashioned flower-pot material. The clay sucks moisture out of the soil, redoubling the watering chore. The hole in the bottom needs to be blocked, but not enough to prevent the water from leaking out. I cut layers of newspaper into circles covering the bottom. About an eighth of an inch will do the trick. This allows the water to drip out into a saucer but not the soil. If you use stones, you will lose some dirt each time you water. Finally, I check for insects and apply a natural pesticide spray if I see evidence of them. The clue here is sticky leaves. The most common houseplant pests suck sap out of leaves, leaving a sticky trail. Do the above and you can almost hear your plants thank you. These guys are friends, and sometimes friends need a favor or two.
The July 12 monthly meeting of the Acton Garden Club will be held at Bonsai West Nursery in Littleton at 10 a.m. The program is titled "Bonsai Basics", and a demonstration and slide lecture will be presented by Michael Levin,...
Bonsai Show and Sale – Presented by The Inland Empire Bonsai Society, July 17, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Manito Park Garden Center. Open to the public. Free admission. 455-9576.
John and Diane Nuccitelli's Mendon garden was a real favorite on the Rochester Civic Garden Center's 2002 Summer Tour. Now the center is offering the opportunity to enjoy a private tour of this almost larger-than-life landscape, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. July 14. Highlights include an Asian-style knoll garden, dwarf conifers, Japanese maples, bamboo, blueberry bushes, an 8,500-gallon pond with 40 colorful koi, a bonsai collection and an aviary filled with exotic birds. The cost of the tour is $25 for nonmembers, and registration is required. Call (585) 473-5130 to reserve a spot.
Tips for Central Kentucky gardeners Pinching and trimming back: With many plants, pinching off the top end of the main stem allows side shoots to grow better. The plant's growing tip, or meristem, produces hormones called auxins and gibberellins that prevent lateral buds from taking over, a phenomenon called apical dominance. Once those controlling growth hormones are removed, increased side growth appears. A plant's size and shape are controlled for a variety of reasons. In topiary, pruning shapes 3-D figures out of evergreen shrubs; in espalier, branches of fruit trees are trained to lie flat against walls; in bonsai, shrubs are miniaturized by pruning branches and roots. Pinching back faded blooms, called dead-heading, will encourage reblooming, lengthening growth time; trimming back branches will create shorter but fuller shapes.
