MAC Member Tom Hitchins Featured in Solo Exhibition at Hammond Hall
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Steuben artist and Machias Arts Council member Tom Hitchins will bring his distinctive driftwood and found-object art to Hammond Hall this fall for a two-month solo exhibition presented by Schoodic Arts for All.
On view throughout September and October, Tom Hitchins: Driftwood & Found Objects will feature wall pieces and freestanding works, bringing together subjects and ideas that have fascinated Tom throughout his life.
An artist reception will be held Sunday, October 4, from 2:00–4:00 PM at Hammond Hall in Winter Harbor.
Seeing What Something Else Could Be
More than 90 percent of the materials Tom uses are found on local beaches—some discovered by Tom himself and others collected by friends who have learned to keep an eye out for interesting pieces of flotsam and jetsam.
What happens next has roots that reach much farther back.
“I have always enjoyed imagining the potential of things to be something else.”
As a child, sand on a beach could become a castle, and a handful of toy soldiers could recreate a famous battle. Later, as an architect, Tom approached a building site in much the same way: looking at what was there, considering the available materials and conditions, and imagining what they could become.
Today, the process continues in his art.
The difference, Tom jokes, is that now he gets to create without worrying about client tastes and budgets, structural failures or building codes.
Shore, Sea and the Space Where They Meet
The works in the Hammond Hall exhibition explore several subjects that continually draw Tom's attention: historical ships, the landscapes and seascapes of Downeast Maine, the effects of light on different materials, and what he describes as his lifelong, visceral connection with “shore, sea and the space they meet in.”
His buoy pieces explore something different—the whimsical and nostalgic world of old, worn toys.
Those ideas come together in work that can be playful and familiar while still carrying deeply personal associations.
One of Tom's newest pieces is a tugboat.
As it began taking shape, Tom realized it looked like a cross between the hero of Scuffy the Tugboat, his favorite book as a young child, and the real tugboats he remembers watching push coal barges along New York City's East River in the late 1950s.
Creating it unexpectedly brought those memories back.
“In doing it I touched a tender spot from my early years that at once surprised and cheered me.”
It's a wonderful example of what can happen when an ordinary found object becomes something more. The finished work doesn't simply depict a tugboat, it connects the Maine coast where Tom creates today with memories that have stayed with him since childhood.
Finding Art in the Rough Edges
Tom hopes visitors to the exhibition experience something similar when they see his work.
He wants people to find joy in seeing bits and pieces cast up on the beach assembled in ways that can be both whimsical and iconic. But he also hopes the work might change how visitors think about art and about the objects they encounter in their own lives.
“I want them to understand that real art can be rough around the edges, can be ‘homemade.’”
Perhaps most importantly, he hopes people leave with an appreciation for what they might be able to create from random things they would otherwise discard.
That philosophy makes the materials themselves an important part of the story. Weathering, wear and imperfection aren't necessarily flaws to be removed. They're part of what gives each object its character, and sometimes the clue to what it might become.
From historic ships and coastal landscapes to whimsical buoy creations, Tom's work reveals the possibilities hidden in materials shaped and discarded by the sea.
An Unexpected Honor
For Tom, being invited to present a solo exhibition at Hammond Hall came as a surprise.
“Being asked to do the exhibit at Hammond Hall is an honor that was both unexpected and amazing.”
The significance isn't simply having an opportunity to sell his work. Tom says knowing that people whose opinions he respects enjoy what he's creating and believe there is a broad enough audience to warrant a solo exhibition means a great deal to him.
“Frankly, I am still processing the whole thing.”
Nearly all of the works in the exhibition will be available for purchase, with prices displayed at the show.
Meet Tom at the Artist Reception
Visitors can meet Tom and experience Driftwood & Found Objects during an artist reception Sunday, October 4, from 2:00–4:00 PM at Hammond Hall.
“Good art, good food and drink and excellent company—in a wonderful, historic, very ‘Maine’ space.”
The exhibition will remain on view throughout September and October.
Tom Hitchins: Driftwood & Found Objects
September–October 2026 Hammond Hall • Winter Harbor, Maine
Presented by Schoodic Arts for All
Artist Reception: Sunday, October 4 • 2:00–4:00 PM