Way to Go! Connetquot artist Gianna Lanza

Gianna Lanza's artwork is turning a school cafeteria hallway into a special kind of Wonderland. The senior at Connetquot High School in Bohemia has devoted dozens of hours in the past two years to painting two murals with an "Alice in Wonderland" theme.

While many classmates have created murals as part of the school's mural class, Lanza is now working on her third - as a community service project.

"I've been obsessed with 'Alice' since I was about 3," said Lanza, 18. "I generally stay after school once a week to do some painting."

Her first mural, based on Disney's version of the fairy tale, has Alice looking up at colorful flowers while standing on a mushroom. It took Lanza about six weeks to complete and is 9 feet tall and 13 feet wide.

The second mural was based on Tim Burton's film version of the story with Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. The current piece will be done this spring and is a tea party scene from Lewis Carroll's book.

"She has the consonance of a fine artist," said Connetquot art instructor Karen Christensen.

Lanza is a member of Huntington-based nonprofit Splashes of Hope and her school's National Art Honor Society, Art Club and Ceramics Club.