"They have to keep their right brain open," she said. "And the art they receive in public schools, they don't get enough of it."

Research shows that children start to lose their right-brained creative edge around the age of 10. And if creativity is not nurtured early, it can be hard to recover. Which is why places like the Visual Art Institute are so important. Located in the old Garfield Elementary School building at 1838 S. 1500 East in Sugar House, the institute offers after-school art training for kids ages 5 to 18, regardless of their previous experience or skill level. Bruce Robertson took over as executive director of the institute eight years ago.

"My vision is to make it a much more family friendly place," he said. "A place where kids feel safe and want to be. A place where children can let their creative energy out and find a peer group with similar feelings and sentiments about creativity."

That vision has recently been put in jeopardy. The old school building, which is owned by the Salt Lake City School District, was recently tagged as surplus and put up for sale. The institute has started a capital campaign to raise the money to buy it themselves.

"Of course, we would love to be able to be the ones that purchase it," Robertson said. "We would love to continue the legacy of what this place has meant to the community."

That legacy began when the Visual Art Institute was founded in 1978, with the goal of offering a creative outlet and additional training in the visual arts. The institute currently serves about 80 students in 10 courses of study, including print making, portraiture and ceramics. Registration is now open for the spring semester, which begins the week of April 17.

Scotti Hill, a 17-year-old senior at Woods Cross High School in Davis County, has been attending the institute since she was in elementary school. Her specialty is portraiture, but she is currently enjoying a film-making class at the institute, among other courses. Her art courses at school are sufficient for learning technique, but attending the Visual Art Institute has helped develop her creativity.

"Out of all the years that I've been doing art, the first step that made me really happy as an artist was being able to draw really well," Hill said. "But now it's creating new things, original things."

Another goal of the institute is to open the door for students to attend college and study art. Hill has been accepted to the University of Utah, and should hear any day now about an art scholarship. Paustenbaugh's own daughter started attending the Visual Art Institute when she was 7 years old. Now 22, she will graduate this spring from an art school in Portland, where she received a full-ride scholarship.

"This school just formed her and shaped her," Paustenbaugh said.

Art, Robertson said, is something that shapes and forms society in a positive way, which is why teaching and preserving it is so important.

"I think it's what enriches us," he said. "I think it's what enables us as human beings. It helps preserve our culture, our heritage, and gives our children voice in the community."

Some children, like 16-year-old Ethan Barley, a junior at Highland High School, would not have a voice any other way.

"I'm not very good at writing or anything, so I think art would be the best way," he said. "It's just a way people express themselves. It helps me look at things in different ways."

Barley has been attending classes at the Visual Art Institute since the second grade. His favorite medium is charcoal drawing, but he is learning a lot in a print-making class as well. He hopes to grow up and be an architect. Barley has some other goals as well.

"I want to be good at painting landscapes," he said, "but I'm not that great."

It is never too late, however, to start learning. Anyone with an interest or a passion can be an artist, Robertson said, though exposure at a young age certainly helps the learning process along.

"When they're little, kids have this imaginary world," he said.

"They're exploring the world, discovering the world through imagery."

Older children just need to learn to refocus their creative energy, and even people without a strong interest in art will be surprised by what they learn if they just try, he added.

All of that will be lost, however, if the institute is forced to close its doors.

"I think art gives a voice to the spirit, to communication with others that can't be done by other means," Robertson said. "I just really think this is so needed in the community."

For more information about the Visual Art Institute, including class schedules, call 801-474-3796 or e-mail executive director Bruce Robertson at brucerobertson .art@gmail.com.

Art teacher, Lenka Konopasek (right) helps eight year-old Hayden Francom (center) and his eleven year-old brother, Taylor, in a painting class at the Visual Art Institute.

The Visual Art Institute is a kind of after school program for kids interested in developing art skills. Recently students produced art that represents Utah and sold it at a fund-raiser. Located in the old Garfield Elementary building in Sugar House, the institute is in danger of losing it's space to hold classes because the building has been declared surplus by the school district. The institute has been holding art classes for for 24 years, and has helped produced many sterling scholars for the state. The institute hopes to raise enough money to buy the building and turn it into a premier art center.