Waverly Students Show Off Animal Artwork

From Sachem Central School District: Colorful creations were plentiful at Waverly Avenue Elementary School in the Sachem Central School District as fifth-grade students created animal bobbleheads as part of an art activity exploring ceramics.

Utilizing ceramic clay, students in Susan Kinsey’s art class used their hands to sculpt cats and dogs for their bobble heads. Students used toilet paper rolls as armatures to create the body of their animals and then shaped the animal’s heads from pinch pots, a molding technique achieved by pinching the thumb and forefinger to form a bowl-shaped mold.

As part of the lesson in ceramics, students learned each step of the kiln firing process to produce finished ceramic sculptures. Students began with the initial firing, called the bisque fire, before applying a glaze to their sculptures and placing them in the kiln for the final firing, known as the glaze fire.

Throughout the building, each grade level is participating in a ceramics activity to encourage manual dexterity and support the creative process.

Photo caption: BobbleHeads: Waverly Avenue Elementary School fifth-grade students showed off their ceramic creations.

Photo courtesy of the Sachem Central School District