Isabella • 17 • Meath

16-18 Category   •  2026
For my sculpture, I made an example of the theme of nature using a pekin duck, a simple and relatively common bird found in nature. I made a duck because even though they are common birds they’re not as appreciated as any other animal or bird species may be. Ducks are very diverse, peaceful, and friendly and are an integral part of the ecosystem just as any other animal is and I feel that this is what reflects the theme of nature. To me, nature means the acceptance and acknowledgement of the importance of every species and their traits, and I think the tranquillity of a duck reflects this. To make my sculpture, I used cardboard, paperboard, newspaper, PVA glue and acrylic paint. I created an almost skeleton figure of the duck using cardboard to create the structure of the bird. I then stuck pieces of paperboard to the edges of the cardboard skeleton so I could layer masking tape on top to create the form. If I hadn’t used the paperboard to do this, the edges of the masking tape on the cardboard would be sharp, and I needed the form of the sculpture to be smooth for it to work. After sticking it together, I layered masking tape on top of the cardboard and paperboard to create a form for the duck. I did around 2 layers until it was strong enough and then used paper mache to solidify the sculpture. The sculpture is meant to convey the calm and peaceful duck, so making the form visually appealing and smooth was crucial to the piece. Paper mache helped with forming the duck after around another two layers, so I went to paint it with white paint as a base and as the final colour. I painted the eyes and the beak and added highlights to both. Finally, I went in with some light silver paint on the white base to make a feather texture on the wings and torso.