“Dino Trouble.” “Abyss.” “The Overgrown World of the Mice.” “Pineapples at Sunset.” “Rabbit in Space.” These intriguing titles are some of the tunnel books created by Hyla 6th graders using collage, implied line, and six different sheets of paper in Art. The goal of this project was to look at the elements of art in new and deeper ways through telling a moment of a story. Earlier this fall students had opportunities to consider and evaluate elements including line, shape, and color as tools for their work, growing in their thinking as artists. 

Art teacher Kate encouraged students to “make a statement by not following convention”. For example, texture can be subversive, surprising and contradicting what we might expect. Lines can be implied. Layers of paper in a tunnel book provide the opportunity to explore depth and the illusion of depth.

During the past month and a half, students experimented with a variety of methods and materials. As one requirement, Kate asked the sixth graders to use vertical, horizontal, or diagonal lines to intentionally create feeling. They began the project by drawing out their ideas in pencil, then cutting shapes with an X-acto knife. Painting, outlining, gold leaf, gluing, and folding followed.

On Padlet, students posted titles and reflections beside photos of their tunnel books. These art explorations express feelings from the loneliness of a snow man who wants a friend and the playful sense of humor in “The Overgrown World”: “You never know when the world gets taken over by mice.” Some tunnel books pose historical questions: “Will this be the end for the dinosaur?” Some tunnel books are fantastical with expansive, imaginary landscapes crafted inside the paper layers. “Hills” shares an image from the story of Rapunzel. A rabbit in space is surrounded by galaxies and curved lines. “Herons” hold the center of “a stormy lake in a forest”. Gold leaf highlights both “Pineapples at Sunset” and “Mine Shaft”. The “Abyss” explores uncertainty: “Is it a solar eclipse….a hole in the ground….a black hole? No matter what you see, you are drawn into the abyss”. Looking at the sixth grade tunnel books, you are drawn into the depths of their enchanting and surprising explorations.