Sculptor Calvin Ma has struggled with social anxiety since he was a child. He remembers how playing with action figures both soothed him and stimulated his active imagination. As an adult, Ma is still inspired by those experiences. He creates ceramic figurines of human-bird hybrid creatures, like the example above. The fantastical sculpture, titled First Step, depicts a character encased in armor-like feathers and a beaked headdress. Ma painted repeating patterns to render the feathers’ textures. The work reflects the artist’s own desire to shield himself from the outside world. “I never really felt comfortable in my own skin in social settings,” Ma says. “I created these characters to help tell stories about it.”

Ma juxtaposes the theme of social anxiety with a sense of childlike play and creativity. “Being shy, timid, and a bit socially awkward is something that will always be a part of me,” he says. “The goal is to come to terms with it and grow from it.”