Some artists who sold thousands of dollars of work through the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts in Point Breeze have waited months to collect their money.

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The center suspended operations last weekend and laid off its 13 staff members. However, scheduled art camps are being held this week, and all wedding contracts will be honored.

Catherine Kraus, president of the center's 20-member board of directors, said the center is $1 million in debt.

Kraus said the board will meet today with a "reputable individual" who telephoned her Monday and offered a solution.

"We don't know any details. We're meeting with that individual. It may not be viable, but we have to try everything at this point," she said.

Kraus said the center's board rejected the option of declaring bankruptcy because it wants to pay its debts. According to a federal tax return filed by the nonprofit, the center took in $1.9 million in revenue in 2002 but spent $2.8 million.

Local artists, who founded the center in 1945, were dismayed to learn of its closing and frustrated because many of them have been trying for months to obtain payment for their work.

Betsy Huffman, a fiber artist who teaches high school ceramics, said she and her husband, Dale, have been involved at the center for 30 years.

"The place shouldn't be allowed to die. The center was able to support a lot of artists in this area and promote their work. I was surprised that things had gotten as bad as they did without more of us knowing about it. I think they should try to get the doors open as quickly as possible, if only on a limited basis," Huffman said.

Huffman of Mount Washington said her husband sold 45 pieces of pottery there earlier this year during his exhibition, "Painted by Fire." He is owed at least $1,300 for work sold, she said.

Last month, seven artists wrote to Lou Karas, the center's executive director, and requested payment for sales of their work. The July 23 letter suggests that telltale signs of the center's financial problems surfaced nine months ago.

"None of us can afford to repeat what happened during the holiday season last year, when the PCA's cash flow problems resulted in the artists receiving payment in April 2004 for sales made in December 2003," the letter states.

The center's consignment agreement stipulates that artists are to be paid 30 days after the last day of the month in which an item is sold, according to the letter. Kraus confirmed that is how the arrangement works.

The letter also indicates that artists are frustrated by a lack of response from Karas.

"We have repeatedly tried to contact you, but you have chosen either to ignore our calls or to communicate indirectly through your assistant, Ms. [Carrie] Bortz. Your refusal to personally respond to our individual efforts at resolving these overdue payments directly conflicts with the PCA's founding principle to support and promote local artists," the letter says.

Karas said yesterday the artists' letter "was discussed with the executive committee of the board and they indicated they would address the issues directly with the artists. Calls were acknowledged by myself or by my assistant.''

Karas said she has devoted her time this week to dealing with the closure's aftermath. "I have spoken with just about everyone who has an event through December. They've left a message or I've gone through the contracts. The center will be set up the way they expected it to be for their weddings.''

Karas said she has been heartened by several calls from people who have offered help, including artists, neighborhood residents and students.

Kraus said the board's treasurer, Mike Joyce, "actually had a conversation with one of the artists who came forward with that letter. He explained the situation. She has since written a letter back to us saying she would work with us now that she understands the center's financial woes. Quite frankly, I will be meeting with all of the shop artists next week."

Kay Christy, who serves as director of Affair in the Park, a juried art show sponsored by the Craftsmen's Guild of Pittsburgh, said the annual event, scheduled for Sept. 10-12, will go on as planned.

The center had planned two exhibits for Sept. 10. The annual Artist of the Year exhibition was to focus on Carnegie Mellon University associate professor Jim Duesing, an animator and electronic artist. Adam Sipe, a painter, had been chosen as emerging artist of the year.

"We're doing our darndest to work that out," Kraus said, adding that "somebody has to paint the gallery and do the set-up. There are people who are coming forward and volunteering to do just that."

The center hopes to find funding to sponsor those exhibitions and meet its commitment to the artists, she added.