Amid freshly made artwork, random cats, and free wieners, poet Sara Wingate Gray takes a deep breath and transforms into a librarian.

She sets up a pseudo-library of seven novels, on a small square table called “The Library Cubicle,” and as the smell of beef and veggie hot dogs wafts through the room, the 27-year-old hands out mock library cards to her audience before allowing them to “check out” the books.

“This is what the space is about,” said Leslie Henslee, 37, curator and owner of Frankenart Mart, an art studio and Richmond District store that hosts monthly Hot Dog Giveaway Days and free interactive performances every month.

Henslee came up with the combination of franks and art while formulating her thesis at SF State, envisioning a place where art could be sold on a hot dog cart. But after graduating with an MFA in the now defunct interdisciplinary Arts Program at SF State in 2002, she discovered a small store could work too. She began molding a small shop in San Francisco into a forum where painters, dancers, filmmakers, musicians, and writers could create and sell their original art.

“I wanted to provide a space where everyone who wants to be an artist can,” Henslee said. “I figure [free hot dogs] will always bring in the starving artists.”

The creative space, tucked tightly between a preschool and a Chinese food restaurant in the Inner Richmond, opened near the corner of Balboa Street early last year, featuring an array of different themes and collections that rotate every three months.

“I decide the themes based on my interests,” Henslee said. “The exhibit grows as time progresses, when new work by artists is added.”

The current theme is “Games” and includes improvisational pieces like Gray’s librarian skit, homemade boardgames, and game-like inventions. One group activity is “Paint by Dice,” where artists take a die and decorate a square in relation to the number they roll. “Telephony Pictionary” is an interdependent game where a group of people feed off of each others’ aesthetic energy to create a collaborative masterpiece.

33-year-old painter Alex Jacobs visits Frankenart Mart frequently to eat free hot dogs and create original artwork.

“[Frankenart Mart] is just a great place to know about and visit,” Jacobs said. “It’s a unique place.”

In addition to displaying artwork, Henslee says Frankenart Mart provides a space for artists like Jacobs to make money, since all of the profits are divided in half between her and the artist.

“I created a painting and tried to sell it here,” said Jacobs. “Unfortunately, it was returned.”

Jacobs found out about the art gallery through a Web site, but others like Richmond District resident Sara Pizer-Bush, just stumbled upon it.

“It’s a real community space that embodies the concepts of collaboration, engagement and play,” said Pizer-Bush, who goes to the shop when she feels the need to create.

“I’ll get the urge to spontaneously draw a picture, sing a song or break out into an improvisational dance,” she said.

The next hot dog day is scheduled for early November, but Henslee encourages all to attend and add to the upcoming collection “Once Upon a Time Children’s Books series,” which opens October 20 and runs through January 20.

For more information, visit http://www.frankenartmart.com/