I completed LOCAL COLOR, a series of polychrome ceramic sculptures, while isolating in central New York during the COVID pandemic, at a time when I felt poised between the chaotic and painful events taking place globally and the profound silence and isolation of the rural community where my studio is located. Throughout the summer of 2020 I explored forms that expressed something of the stress and precariousness of that position. The sculptures explore gravity, imbalance, instability and the fracturing of form. After an initial bisque firing the pieces were sometimes modified or augmented using plaster or plaster infused fabric. The final sculpures were then airbrushed with thin layers of fluid acrylic paint.