Trained Eye Arts Center provides studio space, community to local artists

Adam Nahas’ office is more of a workshop.

A decapitated head hangs on one wall, a leftover prop from a Samurai movie for which Nahas did special effects. Tools and supplies are scattered across tables. The persistent whirring of an electric saw can be heard from the next room.

“I kind of have a broad definition of what I think art is,” said Nahas, the founder and president of the Trained Eye Arts Center. “If you’re making something or doing something for fun, for a purpose, that is entertaining, it’s an art form.”

Walking through Trained Eye Arts, located right off the B-line Trail at 615 N. Fairview St., one will find a variety of visual and literary artists.

These artists have started a food pantry, planted a community garden and colored murals on the walls of Bloomington buildings. But beyond these city-wide projects, they have established a “creative incubator” community of their own. 

Joe Masek sits at his table by the stairwell surrounded by paintings and metal sculptures he made based on his three favorite subjects — guitars, Prada and Jesus — as well as a real animal’s jawbone, which he painted bright pink.

Up the stairs, liquid artist Matt Easter has a desk covered with his drawings. Easter said he has drawn his particular style of art on more unconventional canvasses before, including motorcycles and women.

And underneath the same stairwell, John Wilson, printmaker and owner of Pygmalion’s Art Supplies, makes woodcuts of quotes from artists and critics for a series of books he is currently working on.

“I print them by hand using a wooden spoon,” Wilson explained. “It’s kind of an old-fashioned way to print, but to own a press these days is pretty expensive.”

Because more artists joined Trained Eye Arts, Nahas said the rent per studio became cheaper for everyone. The center has grown from about 10 artists when they opened in March to about 23 artists in mid-January.

“Since we opened, it’s kind of crazy how many artists have heard about us,” said Abby Wilde, vice president of Trained Eye’s studio committee. “Hopefully, that means we’re doing a good job.”

Web designer and filmmaker John Howard shares his studio space with Benedict Jones, and they use the space to work on business development and strategies for nonprofits. Howard manages the center’s website and helps artists create their own websites to show their work.

“I’ve lived in Bloomington since ’97, and I’ve never been as excited about an organization as I am with Trained Eye,” Howard said.

“I think it has the right blend of empowering individuals who do their own thing, and also has great potential for people to come together and work on projects for the community.”

Nahas said he is working to make Trained Eye more of a cooperative or artists’ guild, rather than continuing to run everything on his own.

“We decided we needed to form a bigger co-op, to make it into an actual arts center rather than people just renting spaces,” said Laura Brikmanis, a painter, a muralist and the vice president of the beautification committee. “Part of our goal as a studio is to unify the community.”

The arts center has Open Eye Days from 4 to 8 p.m. Fridays and from noon to 8 p.m. Saturdays, during which community members can visit artists and see their works in progress.

Trained Eye also offers programs for community members. J. Jacob Barker is an educator, volunteer and writer at the arts center who works on the studio and education committees.

“The education committee regulates the educators, the workshops and ensures there’s a space to have those workshops and classes,” Barker said. “We do everything from painting to ceramics, a lot of what they call ‘clean’ arts. I hope to facilitate a poetry workshop.”

After the Bloomington Eco Center closed in December 2011, Mylo Roze created a sustainable food program at Trained Eye, which now has a food pantry from 1 to 3 p.m. every Wednesday.

The food pantry is called Slo FoodS, or Simply Local Organic Food Security System, and has become Roze’s main focus as director of the Eco Media Center.

Brikmanis has painted murals on a number of community buildings, including Hoosier CrossFit, the Bloomington Playwrights Project and Kilroy’s Sports Bar.

“We’ve also gotten a few grants lined up from the city to improve the actual building that we’re in,” Brikmanis said. “We’re getting our not-for-profit status this year.”

Nahas helped create a community garden near the B-line trail and hopes to keep expanding beautification projects and studio space around Bloomington.

“It’s more than just an arts center,” Nahas said. “I’m trying to do more community outreach that involves art. Those are kind of the three different wings ­­— education, sustainability and beautification.”

Printmaker Kim Ransdell said continued education in unconventional ways is most important to her.

She said she believes education can inspire the community, and she said she finds many of her friends are in a “hard place in their life” right now.

Ransdell wants to use her work to help them grow spiritually and presses the message “Never give up” onto the background of her works.

“Most of my artwork, I want it to reflect not being defeated in life and not giving up on your dreams,” Ransdell said. “I feel like there’s nothing more I’m supposed to do in life than help lift people up.”

Nahas said that, after the grand opening Nov. 5, he received messages from community members saying that Trained Eye was what the northwest side of Bloomington needed.

“Being in this part of town, it’s kind of on the side of town that could use a little revival,” Wilde said. “We’re putting our feet in the ground.”