In 2011, the TIDES INSTITUTE & MUSEUM OF ART (TIMA) purchased the 1887 Holmes Building. The “Holmes Twins” building is a 3,000 square foot, two unit, two-story historic brick structure, located in the center of Eastport, Muselenk (Moose Island), Maine’s waterfront downtown with sweeping views of Passamaquoddy Bay and nearby Canadian islands. With support from two national ARTPLACE awards among many other supporters, TIMA restored and developed the building into a working art making space called StudioWorks. StudioWorks opened on June 1, 2013.
Two first-floor studios, each approximately 450 square feet, are dedicated art production spaces. The print shop studio houses letterpress and other printmaking equipment. In 2020, this studio was named the Nina Bohlen Studio in honor of Nina Bohlen, a Boston artist and printmaker with deep ties to this region and a long time member of TIMA’s board of trustees including president. The second studio can be used as a private studio for artists-in-residence or for additional classroom or workshop space. Storage of tools, supplies, and other basic studio equipment is provided on the first floor, and a first floor bathroom is accessible from both studios. The second floor at StudioWorks is under continuing development and includes additional studio space along with kitchen, full bath and laundry facilities and common areas.
More information about the StudioWorks Artist-in-Residence program can be found here: StudioWorks Artist-in-Residence Program.
StudioWorks also serves as a demonstration model in the downtown of energy efficiency. The design for this demonstration model was contributed pro bono by architect, Kiel Moe, a leading world authority on energy efficient structures and now Gerald Sheff Chair of Architecture at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The renovation of the building included installation of a state-of-the-art Austrian automatic wood pellet boiler, seven-ton wood pellet hopper, radiant heating system, and closed cell spray foam insulation. The property includes an adjacent parking lot for six vehicles.
Over the past several years, the TIMA has developed its own imprint, the Hand Line Press. The Hand Line Press publishes a series of letterpress posters and other printed materials on the topics of place and community. Producing each poster includes the commissioning of an original work of art and often is a collaborative enterprise involving a printer, an artist, a community organization and/or school. The complete series of posters can be viewed through this link: Hand Line Press Posters.
Printmaking and letterpress equipment at StudioWorks includes Vandercook Number 4 proofing press; M.M. Kelton etching press; a custom 24×48 etching press designed by Boston artist Hyman Bloom and built by Peter Lindenmuth of Nexus Design; a Sturgis CP4 18×36 etching press; an Ettan MS-12 tabletop etching press; 6×9 Sigwalt tabletop letterpress; Line-O-Scribe tabletop letterpress; Nolan tabletop proof press; heavy duty drying racks, 34-inch Toulmin board shear, and a considerable quantity of wood and metal type.
General studio equipment at StudioWorks includes stainless steel and folding tables, folding chairs, stools, portable desk lamps, clip-on lights; a large size artist studio easel; basic shop and hand tools for artists to use, as well as an iron, ironing board, blender, hot plate, portable electric 2-burner stove and extension cords/power strips.
Other equipment shared with TIMA includes an Epson Expression 10000XL Photo scanner, Mac laptops/desktops, and an Epson Stylus Pro 3880 printer.
For more information, contact TIMA at 207.853.4047 or via email at: tides [at] tidesinstitute [dot] org.