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Former Lyman elementary school is being repurposed as art studios

PHOTO / TINA FISCHER The Cousens School building in Lyman, vacant since 2007, is now a community arts studio.
By Tina Fischer

When Shannon Richards and partner Caleb Johnson stumbled upon an empty school building in Lyman on Craigslist in 2022, their long search for studio space to work on arts and woodworking projects began to take shape. 

They purchased the 10,000-square-foot building for $550,000, and the original vision expanded to include space for a variety of makers to come together in a community arts center, which they’ve named Outskirt.

Richards owns Hay Runner, which offers construction design and planning services from offices in Portland and Rockland. Johnson is an architect and the founder of Woodhull, a Portland-based firm focused on design and construction for homes, offices, restaurants and retail. 

At the Lyman site, Outskirt Director Kelsey Carmichael gave Mainebiz a tour of the building last week and said the space is designed to be “a space for all makers, all levels, professionals and hobbyists. Many people are interested in learning but don’t have the space or the tools. This is that space for them.”

school conversion
Photo / Tina Fischer
The former auditorium at the Cousens school in Lyman now serves as a gathering and presentation space for Outskirt.

Studio space and more

Over the past two years Richards said they’ve put $1 million into refurbishing and fitting out the building for approximately 20 individual studio spaces available for artists to rent, along with a large open ceramics classroom. The ceramics space will offer memberships as well as classes and workshops. 

“We needed a place to make things and spread out. We have small homes and six kids between us,” Richards said. She has a BFA in sculpture with a minor in ceramics, mediums she’s excited to explore in the new studio. She also looks forward to “making some fun furniture, drawing, painting, getting dirty.”

With the help of their two company’s crews, Richards and Johnson have taken down some interior walls and installed new wiring, lighting and heat pumps, along with doing “substantial work to bring it up to code,” Richards said. The building was constructed in 1937 and an addition was put on in the 1960s. It had been vacant since 2007.

The school’s original wooden doors had to be replaced with fire-safe metal doors, and the old doors have been artfully repurposed as unique studio dividers. The floors are being refinished, and they’ve kept all of the large chalkboards. The former auditorium is now a bright, open room with tables and benches for gathering, and the stage is expected to be used for a variety of classes and presentations.

Outskirt is offering monthly memberships ranging in price from $100 to $700. Individual studio spaces can be rented out from $275 to $700 a month. They have eight members already signed up and expect to be able to accommodate 150 artists. The center will also offer classes. 

They expect to be fully open, 24/7, come March, and are hosting their first group ceramics gathering on Friday, Feb. 14, for a Valentine’s Day “Sip and Spin.”

Future plans call for repurposing the exterior space too, with a patio, community gardens and a wood-fired kiln, which Richards envisions could be a fun group-build project. The six-acre property includes an established baseball ball field, which the Little league of America has been invited to use. “The town really wanted us to keep the ballfield,” said Richards.

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