ROCKLAND — Creativity is a funny thing. Sometimes, you need solitude to get it sparked. Other times, it’s just the opposite: You need other people around to ignite that which is just waiting for the right chemistry and moment. At the Steel House in Rockland, there is opportunity for both — quiet mental space, as well as room to exchange ideas.

There, on the banks of the harbor’s north end, sits an unconventional (by New England standards) building that now houses a collective of artists, designers, writers, educators, technologists, and other creative types.

They are holding an open house Saturday, April 5, 1 to 5 p.m., and are inviting the public to see what it going on.

“It’s really about promoting creativity a little differently,” said Tom Weis, one of the principals of the for-profit Steel House.

Weis holds a master’s degree in industrial design from the Rhode Island School of Design. He has worked locally for several years on a variety of projects, from architecture to carpentry to teaching students at the Watershed School, in Camden, about the design of fonts. He arrived first in Maine in 1996 to attend the Apprenticeshop, the boat-building school just down the street.

A Steel House mission, he said, is to instill an appreciation for creative problem-solving, and put students together with professionals as they tackle real projects.

While the facility is jointly managed by the three principals — Julie O’Rourke, Nathan Davis and Weis — it rents stations to other artists and artisans.

The 7,500-square-foot, three-story building is a flow of individual and collective space, from a workshop in the garage/basement, to work stations and common areas on the first floor, to a writer’s aerie on the third floor. That’s where writer and publisher David Perez puts out the Kindling Quarterly, a substantial magazine that focuses on fatherhood and all its joys and issues.

Across the room from his desk sits freelance writer Irene Yadao.

“We all have our own small businesses,” said O’Rourke, whose own space is tucked beside a window with expansive views over the harbor and Rockland Breakwater.

O’Rourke grew up in Blue Hill, earned a degree from Rhode Island School of Design, lived in Providence, R.I., for three years, and then decided to move home to Maine.

“I was ready to get out of the city and be closer to family,” she said.

Her concentration on graphic design branding.

Nathan Davis maintains his own space, across the floor from O’Rourke, where he focuses on software design, music, finance and art — right now, he is working on a back-lighting system for his 3D-printed scores that will move in time with the music (Here’s a very brief demo video (the audio is just background noise.)

Nearby his station, another work space had been populated by a textile designer, her sewing machine and scissors and fabric lying across the table.

The three principals regard the Steel House, which they have leased, as an incubator for small businesses, as well as a place for workshops. In mid-March, they had just ordered eight new iMacs and a 3-D printer.

O’Rourke, Weis and Davis envision holding classes there in robotics, computer programming, teenage entrepreneurship, open figure drawing and art fundamentals — “design and technology,” said Davis, who holds a doctorate from the University of California, Davis. His thesis was on music and Brahms, and on a shelf by his window sits a 3-D sculpture of a music composition.

“I want to allow people — kids and adults — to have exposure to things they might not have exposure to,” he said.

The Steel House, with is cement floors, high ceilings and abundant natural light, will be open for conversation and exploration Saturday, April 5. All are welcome to see the work of Weis, O'Rourke, Davis, Perez, Yadao, Alexis Iammarino, Molly O'Rourke, and John Grote, and discuss plans for future workshops.

Editorial Director Lynda Clancy can be reached at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657.