VENTURA : Students Transform Dingy Tunnel Into a Work of Art

Until recently, an underground walkway near E. P. Foster School in Ventura was a dingy concrete tunnel marked by the graffiti of neighborhood gangs. Light poured in from both ends, but not much else brightened the passageway.

“It used to be spooky, but now this is like walking through a little cartoon,” said D’Anira, an Ojai muralist who uses only her first name.

The cartoon that D’Anira has helped create is an underwater seascape that contains elements from whimsical drawings done by a class of 28 fifth-graders at the school just off Ventura Avenue.

Using cans of latex paint, sponges and roller brushes, the students first painted a background of blues and greens, then began filling in the aquatic life.

Following the outlines drawn by D’Anira, they dabbed in jelly fish (without stingers), goldfish, turtles and a large gray whale. In between, they painted wavy green plants and orange coral.

Ten-year-old Angela Waites said her favorite part of the project is “painting stuff and seeing how it comes out.”

Angela, who walks through the tunnel beneath Ventura Avenue every day, said the paint has brightened the passage, making it easier to see.

D’Anira, who is studying to become a chiropractor, said she first learned about the tunnel when she lived in the Ventura Avenue area 12 years ago.

Although her three children, age 5, 10 and 12, now attend school in Ojai, D’Anira said she wanted to give something back to her old neighborhood.

“I wanted the children to know they can make a difference, that they can do things themselves,” she said.

After proposing the project to E. P. Foster Principal Fred Rivera, she turned to the city for permission to paint the tunnel and received a $1,000 grant through a beautification project.

The project should be finished within the next few weeks. It will then be coated with a clear paint that will make it easier to clean off graffiti without damaging the mural. The tunnel is open during school hours.