Evening star., 1947-11-25
Bp Betty Miles

The fact that sea shells provide
fine raw material for a lobbyist
is deftly demonstrated by two great
er Washington residents. At Ar
flington Farms, Mrs. Alta Hutchens
turns out pins, earrings and many
other items made from shells. In
Silver Spring, 16-year-old Mary Lou
Forni adds to her current total of
700 shell earring sets produced in
two years, made with a skill she
developed during her fight with
arthritis.
Mrs. Hutchens, who was former
ly employed in the Adjutant Cen
erals Office, came to Arlington
Farms as a housekeeper last Feb
ruary. In her gay, blue-walled
room in Nebraska Hall she works
on her jewelry, sometimes turning
out a couple of sets Of pins and
earrings in an evening, chats with
the girls on the hall, and does a
thorough job Of keeping her reso.-
luton to stay pleasantly and active
ly busy indefinitely.
A grandmother, Mrs. Hutchens
has three children and five grand
children. A widow for 10 years, she
believes In finding life for herself
apart from her children. She and
her sister took civil service tests
in 1943, were appointed to posts in
Washington, and set off in a little
old jalopy" from Oklahoma, bound
for the Capital.
Creative work, Mrs. Hutchens
feels, is a wonderful outlet. She
works in one medium as long as
it holds her attention, then switches
to another. Oil and water-color
painting, ceramics and leather
work have been her special interests
in times, past. Il love to try new
things" Mrs. Hutchens declared,
land I like to create beauty. Then
I want to interest other people
in it,"
The sea shells used range from
quite ample ones to very, very small
ones. The tiny round shells in the
flower pin pictured are pikaki shells.
The flower petals are made of lucine,
the leaves are fashioned from the
scale of the Florida garish.
Mrs. Hutchens occasionally colorS
the shells with bluing, at other
times dips them in Ink. She has
also used oil paints and water colors
to tint the shells. One effective pin
with a pansy motif was produced in
this way. Shells that are tinted
when purchased are also effective.
A basket pin and earring set re-
veals the intricacy of the work in
volved in some of the pins. The
base of the pin is larger shell, and
very small shells are used as the
flowers in the basket. The shells
are set in place with tweezer, then
pasted together Dogwood sprays
and other flower motifs are also
used. Mrs. Hutchens designs her
sprays "as she goes along" Also
effective is the use of flower sprays
on heavy glass cosmetic jars, on
calendars. on letter holders and
similar pieces.
Actually, interest in other people
and in making life an interesting
and rewarding business is corol-
larry hobby with Mrs. Hutchens. At
the present time. this charming lady
and friend hope to stir up interest
in a club for older people who are
looking for interesting activities
and friends to share them with.
In Silver Spring, sweet 16' Mary
Lou Forni turns shells into ear
rings, pins and bottle decorations,
and hand paints aprons and hand
kerchiefs. Three years ago Mary
Lou was stricken with rheumatold
arthritis, left school and became
thoroughly acquainted with most of
the hospitals in the vicinity. Dur
ing her stay at Johns Hopkins her
works on shell iewelry attracted a
recreation worker there, who has
since established e this work as a
regular activity for patients.