SANDPOINT — Judged solely by the number of classes it offers and the high caliber of the instructors it presents, the Sandpoint Center for the Arts looks, on the surface, like a thriving and successful arts organization.

There’s just one problem with that picture — the confluence of a continuing, tough economy, misperceptions about the center’s role in the community and a previous administration that rankled some supporters and students have brought the group to a make-or-break moment in its seven-year history.

“We’re teetering,” said arts center president Elle Susnis. “We’ve been here before and we’ve pulled it off, but we’re close.”

Formerly known as the Sandpoint Arts Alliance, the organization is in the midst of a shift that, with the name change, better defines what the arts center is all about.

As part of this realignment, the center is striving to emphasize the importance of creating art in a world where constant media bombardment makes it appear to be a commodity.

“The arts get taken for granted,” said Carol Kovalchuk, volunteer executive director for the center.

The addition of the word “volunteer” to her title came when the arts center board realized it couldn’t afford to pay even her minimum wage salary and Kovalchuk decided to stay on the job to help steer the group through its current travails.

“There’s so much music on the radio and so many images on the Internet that people start to think that art ‘just happens,’ ” Kovalchuk said.

Exacerbating the confusion is the fact that Sandpoint Center for the Arts, under its Arts Alliance moniker, was often lumped in with local presenting organizations, leading some to ask the question: How many arts groups does Sandpoint really need? The answer, according to Kovalchuk, lies in how each of them function.

“We all do different things,” she said. “The Pend Oreille Arts Council is for the performing arts, the Panida Theater does its movies and The Festival at Sandpoint has its summer concert series.

“Sandpoint Center for the Arts is a teaching facility — the only one that does visual arts,” she pointed out. “And we’re the only visual arts school in town.”

It’s a distinction the board is trying to highlight as it starts a new class series tomorrow. To make that happen, the center has rolled out a new message along with its updated name. The good word, the board president announced, is that art is for everyone and everyone is welcome to come experience it as a joyful part of the human experience.

“We’re talking about creating art, and creativity is good for all ages,” said Susnis. “This is where those classes happen. We want the arts center to be a hub where the community can come be inspired and creative.”

Strong enrollment in this next batch of classes, coupled with an uptick in donor support, would tip the balance away from teetering on the brink of financial disaster and ensure the arts center’s continued ability to be that hub, she added. The cost for keeping the school open is approximately $1,000-a-month, which goes toward paying rent, utilities and purchasing art supplies. Because the center’s class schedule is weighted more toward adult classes than those for children, its grant-writing options are limited, Kovalchuk explained.

“Everybody thinks, ‘Well, they can just write grants,’” she said. “That’s not true. We can only get grants for our kids’ outreach programs.”

Those grant-supported programs have been among most popular offerings at Sandpoint Center for the Arts.

“Our after-school art program on early release day is paid for primarily through grants and donations, so we pay three-quarters of the cost for them and it brings the price down to $35 for a five-week class,” said Kovalchuk. “In those after-school classes, we’re in here exploring different mediums in art, including painting, clay and drawing.

“Our summer arts camp has also been a big hit,” she continued. “It fills up so fast that we have a wait list. Of course, part of that is because Sharon Gunter is teaching it and the kids have a blast.”

Along with giving a nudge toward more enrolment in adult-level classes and workshops, the arts school has begun to do a better job of blowing its own horn when it comes to how much impact it has on the community.

Susnis drew attention to the center’s role in creating public art, from the “Bugs, Butterflies & Wildflowers” mural at Jeff Jones Square to the “Welcome to Sandpoint” mural on the south wall of Monarch Mountain Coffee, the “Our Wild Waters” mural on the western exterior of Washington Elementary School and a human rights mural in the commons area at Forrest Bird Charter Middle School.

“A lot of people don’t realize that those were our projects,” the president said.

Kovalchuk noted that the center has an extensive following for its class and workshop schedule announcements. If those same followers managed to come up with a couple bucks each, she added, the arts school would be back in the black.

“I recently did a post on Facebook and more than 3,000 people saw it,” she said. “If those people donated $3 each, it would support us for an entire fiscal year.

“We’d like people to know that when you support Sandpoint Center for the Arts, you’re supporting the community,” she went on, “because the artists who teach here are all from the community.”

Artists who lead classes at the school, almost all of whom hold master’s in fine arts degrees, include: Nan Cooper, painting and drawing; Mary Maio, animation and drawing; Sharon Gunter, fiber arts, ceramics and drawing; Sara McTavish, stained glass; Liz Adkinson, watercolor; Mark Kubiak, sculpture and facilitator for the artist’s salon; Kelsey Brasseur, pottery; Carol Kovalchuk, colored pencil; and Alena Baumman, pyrography (wood-burning).

Winter-session classes at Sandpoint Center for the Arts began this week, with more than 14 courses in several mediums running for approximately five weeks each.

n For a complete class list, to make a donation or for more information, visit them online at: www.sandpointartsalliance.org or call (208) 946-9798.