Andrea Parker, owner of The Creative Playground in Newcastle, sits in the classroom space at her Mills Road business. “I believe that creativity is the major foundation of life,” Parker said on Thursday, May 23. (Molly Rains photo)
Damariscotta multimedia artist and educator Andrea Parker believes that creativity is at the heart of all things. But until recently, Parker said, she felt that the Twin Villages lacked a central hub where creatives and makers could unite to work and learn in community.
Parker hopes to change that with her new businesses, The Creative Playground, which she opened at 4 Mills Road in Newcastle on May 16. The business was previously home to mailing business Mail It 4 U, which has moved to a new location within office supply store Supplies Unlimited at 47 School St. in Damariscotta.
“As artists, we often do like to be in solitude. There’s something about the quiet, and having the space to just create,” Parker said. “But when you bring that into a space where you are working alongside other people, it helps you get curious, it helps you explore, it helps you start communicating and seeing how we can help each other, share each other’s work, or collaborate and make the community stronger.”
At The Creative Playground, Parker has two main spaces: a classroom, where on May 23 three tables were laid with brightly colored papers and freshly cut lilacs, and a studio, where artists and makers can rent a work station as needed.
Parker sees community and collaboration as essential to the process of making art, and said she plans for the space to function as a meeting spot for local creatives as well as a practical workspace where people can access the tools and space they need to bring their visions to life.
After a career split between elementary education and business, Parker said she was ready to follow her own path and pursue her passion for art and creative community.
Parker returned 15 years ago to Damariscotta, where she lived from childhood until leaving as a young adult.
“It’s the community I chose to come back to and raise my daughter and truly love and want to give back to,” she said.
Upon moving back, Parker felt there was an unfilled niche for a collaborative studio space in the Twin Villages.
It took five years of looking before Parker identified the space that The Creative Playground now fills, she said. She knew she wanted a location that was downtown and accessible on foot or by bicycle, Parker said. When she saw the 4 Mills Road location, Parker knew she’d found a spot that checked all her boxes.
Since acquiring the space, Parker said, she’s been thrilled to see her vision come to life.
“When something is right, it just flows,” she said.
In the brightly lit studio space, Parker has set up adjustable drafting tables, floor- and tabletop easels, and other supplies and equipment. Visitors can rent a work station by the day or half day to work on large or small projects in a collaborative space.
An accommodating workspace is important for all artists and makers, Parker said. However, she noted, not everybody has access to such an area.
“People may live in a small apartment or in a roommate situation, or have downsized their space,” Parker said. It is for these individuals — or for those who simply want to try working in the same space as other artists — that Parker designed her work stations.
The Creative Playground, a new business at 4 Mills Road in Newcastle. Owner Andrea Parker hopes will give space and community to local artists and makers. (Molly Rains photo)
A shelf that Parker called a “community supply station” completes the studio. Parker said she hopes to stock it with different media and materials that visitors may not have experience with to allow them to experiment and play.
The other half of The Creative Playground is a classroom space. Parker, a former educator, said that she also envisioned the Playground as a venue where knowledge could be shared in community.
Parker and former Great Salt Bay Community School art teacher Karen Hight will be teaching classes and workshops to small groups at the location. Classes currently in the works run the gamut from botanical collage to what Parker called “not your typical paint nights,” where participants are encouraged to produce unique work rather than all working to copy the same image.
In addition to renting classrooms and studio space, Parker has also introduced a membership program called “The Creative Hub,” where for a monthly fee, patrons can get time in the studio space and access to biweekly collaborative meetings.
“It’s a place where you can share your work, get feedback, pitch a collaborative project, or share a creative event that’s going on somewhere that the community should know about,” Parker said.
Ultimately, Parker envisions The Creative Hub as an opportunity for local artists and creative people to come together and make one another stronger.
Eventually, Parker said, she hopes to have a lending library in the space and plans to bring in more artists to teach classes and give presentations. She also hopes that The Creative Playground will become embedded within the twin villages community and begin partnering with other community organizations, bringing arts-centered programming to more people.
“I believe that creativity is the major foundation of life,” she said. “And when you’re in community and you’re creating, it becomes much richer.”
The Creative Playground at 4 Mills Road in Newcastle is open to walk-ins from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday. For classes, workspace rentals, and more information, go to the-creative-playground.com or call 323-6208.
