Jamie Danielson won’t graduate until May, but today the 34-yearold art student at California State University Channel Islands will get her first real-world opportunity to display her art in a public gallery.

“Showing my work for the first time will likely be exciting, a little scary and humbling, so I’m hoping to gain confidence and experience as an exhibiting artist,” Danielson said of the show “Beneath,” which opens today and runs through Mon., Dec. 6 at the Arts on Main Gallery in Ventura.

The show was organized by CSUCI art students as part of a senior project required for graduation and will feature work by Danielson and fellow senior Ashleigh Norman.

The gallery exhibit will give the two students the opportunity to show their work to the public, a learning experience that opens the artist to both criticism and praise.

CSUCI art students Raul Valdez and Adam Jahnke, who helped organize the show, said the students solicited donations from businesses and art patrons throughout the county to help pay for the gallery space.

“A lot of this would not be possible without the aid of the Camarillo and Ventura community,” said Valdez.

Jahnke said choosing which student artists to represent didn’t take long.

“We selected these artists out of the Channel Islands art pool because we felt these individuals demonstrated the most artistic promise,” he said. “We wanted to help mold these students into the professional artists they aspire to be.”

Jack Reilly, chair of the CSUCI art department, described Norman and Danielson as “hardworking figurative artists” and said they will benefit from the show.

“It’ll give them additional exposure beyond what they’ve already gotten at the CSUCI gallery in Ventura,” he said. Rather than several artists sharing the space, the work of only the two students will be featured.

Norman, who will exhibit paintings and sculptures, said she has a strong emotional attachment to her artwork.

“My works are like my children,” she said. “I love all of them. It’s not fair to love one more than the other. If I do, it means the one I don’t love as much isn’t finished yet or needs to be rethought.”

Danielson, a Simi Valley resident, will exhibit a variety of female figurative sculptures ranging from figurine-size to life-size.

“The figures are expressive suggestions of evolution and transcendence,” she said.

Amiko Matsuo, a professor at CSUCI, said Danielson has learned to troubleshoot when she takes on particularly ambitious projects.

“She’s really pushing the process,” Matsuo said. “She’s constantly pushing the material to its limits.”

Matsuo, who’s taught both Norman and Danielson, sees similarities between the two.

“They each approach whatever material they are working on with a lot of energy and vigor,” she said. “These two artists are dedicated. They both have a very strong vision and voice.”

Norman said she’s eager to exhibit her work in a less academic setting.

“I’m excited to show my work to a larger audience and receive feedback from people who are new to my work,” she said. “It’s all a learning experience.”

Norman, a 26-year-old Fillmore resident, said the art world—especially in public schools and universities— has been particularly affected by the soft economy.

“The arts are getting hit pretty hard with funding cuts to school art programs and people not spending money on art. We need to show our support for the art community more than ever.”

Arts on Main Gallery, 242 E. Main St. in Ventura, is an artist’s co-op gallery managed by Sylvia White. The gallery is open 5 to 9 p.m. Fridays and noon to 8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

For more information, call (805) 643-8300 or visit the website www.artadvice.com.

To make a donation to the students’ art show, send an e-mail to guer944@gmail.com.