Evening star., 1940-09-08

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anything of that sort, feeling that it
would not interest or benefit her.
But one day she saw a girl friend
using some balsa wood. In some
manner, this material attracted her,
and she asked for a piece, without
any idea as to what she would do
with it. Then 1t occurred to her to
try to make a chair.
Using only a razor blade, the
piece of balsa, tube of cement
(the type almost universally used
by modelmakers) and some paint,
she constructed chair of the kind
usually used with breakfast sets.
1t is almost inches high and is
painted red and white. That chair
was the first of long line of furni-
ture. Miss Richardson thus far has
made some so pieces, including items
for the dining room, living room
and bedroom. Her equipment now
is exactly the same as that used
for the first chair.
One of the most remarkable things
about this furniture is the fact that
its maker does not use scale. Her
sense of proportion is astounding,
especially in one who has never
had any training in such work. Al
though she does not use a scale, all
the pieces in any set appear to
match perfectly for size. She now
has a bedroom and a dining room
suite to the same scale. However,
usually with each set made, she
seems to decrease the size.
Miss Richardson does not work
from plans. She sees piece of
furniture or a picture of one she
likes and goes home and makes a
miniature of it. Most of her work
has been given to relatives and
friends, SO she has no samples of her
hobby on hand.
Those pieces of furniture which,
If full size, would have glass in them,
are fitted with cellulose acetate film
as a substitute. Pieces of metal foil
take the place Of mirrors. However,
there is no substitute for drawers.
Even so small piece as tiny table,
between a pair of twin beds, has
real drawer. The twin beds are only
134 inches long, and six dining room
chairs, belonging to set of pro-
portionate size, are ! inch high.
They are all of proper size, and
graceful in appearance. The two
sets just mentioned are finished with
shellac, both to harden the wood
and to give them the proper var
nished color and effect.
The maker of these small pieces
does most of her work late at night,
when all Is quiet in the house. Nat
urally, since her products are so
small. and her tool kit almost in
visible. practically no space is needed
for work shop. About two square
feet of table is ample.
With the approach of fall, those
lobbyists with indoor avocations will
soon be resuming activities which,
in many cases, where interrupted be
the advent of summer. Their in
terest in hobbies probably has never
faltered, but often the summer
weather in Washington forces a
suspension Of certain pursuits. For
example, C. Tage Foltz was COM
PEELED to discontinue service. and
even maintenance work, on his O.
gauge railroad in the basement of
his home at 1850 Thirty-sixth street
NV.
Although his cellar appears to be
quite dry, there was enough mois-
ture in the air to cause swelling in
the boards forming the base of his
layout This swelling was sufficient
to shorten the space left for en-
trance into the center of his layout
by about an inch, thereby preventing
the closing of the bridge over this
gap. This bridge is such an i'm