Silverdale — It started out as a temporary seasonal showcase of local art in Kitsap Mall.

Within a few months, it had its own permanent location at a shopping center just east of the mall. Now, six months later, the ArtSLAM Studio is gaining   notice — and members.

ArtSLAM is a co-op of local artists who get together to create, coach, teach and sell their works.

“What we found out was that there was a need for a place like this,” founder Susanna De Santos said. “We’re filling that need, not only for ourselves, but for others.”

De Santos referred to the nonprofit studio at 10300 Silverdale Way, which is open to anyone who wants to come in and create. It operates under a 15-member board of directors who also are the house artists. In total, there are 40 dues-paying members who use the studio and show their works. Non-members are invited to drop by, and anyone can come in to look at or purchase the artwork.

De Santos, who grew up in North Kitsap, turned to art to ease the anxiety of owning a franchise business, Legal Shield. She began with a small studio in downtown Bremerton six years ago, but found it difficult to be by herself.

Following that, she sought out a temporary artist studio at the mall, and found mall managers to be agreeable. She set up shop in the former Forever 21 clothing store space and began painting. One by one, other artists stopped by and became a part of ArtSLAM.

Then, just before the holidays last year, ArtSLAM was offered a permanent location in the shopping center just east of the mall.

The studio offers classes for youth and adults, and hosts home-schooled students for pottery making. Sallie Nan, a board member, teaches the pottery classes.

“It’s interesting to see the students begin to trust their abilities,” Nan said. “I’ve seen kids come in with their hands crossed over their chests, saying they don’t want to be part of this. And then, by the end of class, they’re asking when they can come back.”

Next on the agenda for the home-schooled kids is drawing and collage work.

The studio pays its rent from fees charged for classes and from house artists’ fees.

“Sometimes, it’s just by faith that we make it,” De Santos said. “But the mall loves us and we couldn’t ask for a better landlord.”

Many of the artists who work at the studio are self-taught. They draw on each of their own strengths and find that they can share their techniques.

“Sometimes, one of us will be painting and having a rough time with something,” De Santos said. “We’ll gather around and make suggestions.”

But Nan stressed that there’s no judging others.

“This is all about having a place to create freely,” she said. “We don’t judge here.”

There is a real need for an open studio in the area, especially for young people, ArtSLAM board president Colleen Dobbin said.

“After decades of killing art in the public schools, people are seeing that it’s needed,” said Dobbin, who, like De Santos, is a military spouse. “Even if someone just wants to come in here and color.”

As for walk-in traffic, they know some people are hesitant to open the door and come it.

“We’re kind of a hidden secret,” De Santos said. “When people do walk in, they just say, ‘I was curious what’s going on in here.’ ”

The artists remind others that it isn’t a stuffy art gallery. It’s a studio. Art work is priced from $7 for smaller works to $950 for larger works.

De Santos said every so often all ArtSLAM members are challenged to create something based on a theme. That’s where the mannequins come in. Artists painted on them, added mosaic tiles to one, even created a Christmas tree out of one. The mannequins “watch” the studio from wall to wall.

Another project was a two-dimensional Seahawks-themed calendar; ArtSLAM sold out, earning $500 toward the rent.

De Santos just announced the next project: “How do you remember 9-11?”

“It’s going to be displayed in the (Kitsap) mall for the 15th anniversary of Sept. 11,” she said. “We’re waiting to find out the dimensions of the project. But we know it will be used as the backdrop to a memorial ceremony they have planned.”

Most likely, De Santos won’t be on hand for that. As a Navy wife, which many of the house artists are, she and her husband have orders to move to Hawaii.

While there for the next three years, she plans to work in nonprofits with multiple locations, so she can use that knowledge when she returns to Kitsap County.

“We’ve been asked about opening up studios in other cities throughout the county,” she said. “I’m hoping to bring those skills back with me.”

INFO: Call 360-662-1000 or visit ArtSLAM Studio on Facebook.