DJAMILA NOELLE GROSSMAN/Arizona Daily Wildcat Illustration seniors Megan Smithyman, right, and Nicole Smith get comfortable at Espresso Art, where the current art show of the capstone illustration class finds exposure. Smithyman organized the event which displays pictures of 13 students, including the girls' works, until April 7.

Graduating illustration seniors found a cozy place to expose the best of their art to the public.

Espresso Art, a coffee shop at 942 E. University Blvd., is hosting a show, which opened March 24 and runs until April 7, to give students an opportunity to tie class work into one last project.

Fourteen students enrolled in the capstone illustration class created their work through various media, including watercolor, digital, scratchboard and oil.

The class suggested the idea for an exhibit because illustration seniors have never had a show of their own, said Megan Smithyman, an illustration senior.

Smithyman said she was excited to take on the task of organizing the exhibit because even though she faced tiring hours of work, it was also a lot of fun.

Smithyman said it is important for the community to see what the students do because the UA is "up-and-coming" in this field.

"The school is developing quite a reputation, and it's nice to show the community what we are doing," Smithyman said.

Even though some students have exposed their art in galleries before, this is an opportunity to get everyone together, Smithyman said, and she hopes the next generation of seniors will have a show as well.

Smithyman said Espresso Art was the first place she thought of for the show because she has coffee there almost every morning and likes the atmosphere.

"This space is great because it is not gallery space and the work gets a lot of exposure," Smithyman said. "It is close to campus, and it's got a lot of wall space."

She said she approached Danny Mannheim, owner of Espresso Art, who liked the idea immediately.

"He was ecstatic; he's been wonderful about the whole thing." Smithyman said.

Mannheim said he is happy to have the show at his shop because he hopes it will tie Espresso Art closer to the university. He said he also thinks it is important for the students to get exposure to the public.

"It was very successful, most of the work is very nice. If we could have more kids doing their show it would be nice," Mannheim said. "It's very hard to get exposure in galleries; they don't jump at the students. This is a chance for them."

Smithyman said that when the show opened March 24 it was a big success with at least 40 guests attending, which was a pleasant surprise because she said she's never seen such a rush at a gallery opening before.

Cherilyn Gain, a sophomore majoring in English and Spanish, said she visited the opening and liked the way the pictures blended with the atmosphere of the coffee shop.

"I like it a lot better than other galleries in the union," Gain said. "This is a very popular coffee shop, and it's good to show UA talents here."

Copies of the displayed originals are sold for $12 a piece; contacts are available at Espresso Art.