Vast: A Junior Conceptual Project by Arlene Oriel (2014)

For this unit, I explored the feeling of adoration when I stand up for myself. The piece that I created for this concept portrays a chinchilla wearing a crown in space. When you stand up for yourself, it can bring on a foreign and mortifying feeling, because you don't know how people will react at first. It can also bring on an adventurous feeling. I made my background a picture of space because I imagine that being in space can make you feel adventurous and mortified, as it is very vast and foreign. Standing up for yourself may bring on a feeling of adoration from those around you. When people adore you, they usually think highly of you. Crowns are worn by people of royalty, and people usually think very highly of them. So the crown that the chinchilla is wearing represents adoration from others. Furthermore, standing up for yourself also requires at least a little bit of self-adoration, otherwise you wouldn't be standing up for yourself in the first place.

For the fine art aspect of this piece, I painted a picture of space with acrylic paint. The acrylic paint is a very strong medium to use, and it can also be very overwhelming, like space, and much like the wild array feelings you feel when you have to stand up for yourself.