Balance - Libra
Riverside, Calif. 2024
Balance represents Libra in my Signs of the Zodiac still life series. I struggled with this one. I was worried the whole time I was working on it that I was getting it completely wrong. Thankfully the feedback from those I shared it with early on made me realize I need to trust myself and my process.
Concept
Of the characteristics commonly associated with Libra, I wanted to focus on romance and intellect. One of the unique things about Libra as a sign is that it’s the only zodiac sign that has an inanimate object as a symbol (scales). At the time I was working on this concept, I thought incorporating scales in this still life would be too easy. I wanted to find another way to represent balance while also representing the push and pull of traits that might be at odds occasionally.
To be honest, I’m writing this quite a bit later and can’t remember exactly how I came upon this composition, style and color pallet, but I decided on the metronome as the anchor object of this still life. The idea at the beginning was that the metronome would oscillate between the intellectual side and the romantic side of our libra.
Throughout this still life are themes of romance, intellect, wisdom, and justice. The metronome represents the rhythm and balance between those traits.
Finding a Metronome
When I decided to use a metronome, I thought it would be pretty easy to track down. I like to shop at antique and thrift stores and I felt this was something I had seen everywhere. But that was when I wasn’t looking for one. Everyone knows that when you’re actually looking for something at an antique shop, you can never find it. I went to every antique store I could think of in my cities and a couple of neighboring cities. One of my last stops was going to be a thrift store, which I knew would be a long shot. I had already done one pass through the store and decided to look at the books for a while when I bumped into a neighbor. When I told her what I was looking for there, she stopped dead, saying “I literally have one in my car right now!”
How to support my work
You can support my work by purchasing a fine art print of Balance right here
About the Image
This still life print represents Libra in my Signs of the Zodiac series. This still life has themes of romance, intellect, wisdom and justice. The metronome represents balance between these traits while the spinning top represents a delicate but resilient sense of justice.
About the Print
Printed on archival matte paper, this 8x10 print is open edition. This print is signed, but will not be numbered as it’s an open edition. Print will be signed and dated with the month and year of printing.