Laura Ruprecht literally grew up on the campuses of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University.
The Rocori High School alum’s father worked at SJU for many years baking Johnnie Bread, and she herself attended CSB – graduating in 2009 with a degree in painting/studio art.
She had the chance to display her work on campus as a student, but until now, she hasn’t had the chance to do it as an artist in her own right.
That’s why she is so excited about “The Nature of Wholeness,” an exhibition featuring 13 of her hand-cut, stained-glass mosaics that opens Thursday (Sept. 5) and runs through Oct. 10 in the Gorecki Gallery, located inside CSB’s Benedicta Arts Center.
An artist talk is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Sept. 25.
“It feels awesome,” Ruprecht said. “When I was installing last week, and I saw my name on the wall the way I’d seen so many other artists’ names before over the years, it was really humbling. I never thought this would actually happen.
“It took me five years to make enough pieces to fill a space like the one at Saint Ben’s. So this is really surreal to be back here opening an exhibition at my alma mater.”
The exhibition highlights her interest in stained glass, which started when she was working at the Paramount Center for the Arts in downtown St. Cloud and had the chance to be part of a project commissioned by the City of St. Cloud.
“The lead artist on the project, Melissa Gorman, knew I was an art major in college and I had a painting background,” Ruprecht said. “So she brought me along on the journey. All of the pieces being made were stained glass. The more I saw of it, the more I liked that medium. Something seemed to click for me and I took off with it.
“Even as a painter, I always used the paintbrush in a more sculptural fashion,” she continued. “My portraits were always more fragmented. I also really love the process of choosing what colors go together. But I always had a difficult time when it came to color mixing. With stained glass, you have these very strong colors and tones already. You don’t have to mix them. You just have to put them together in a way that fits.”
The work Ruprecht will be displaying at CSB focuses on animals.
“They’re all large-scale mosaics of animals and birds,” she said. “I’m a huge animal lover. I have a strong connection to nature and animals, and they also have so much symbolical significance culturally, as well as in religion and literature.
“So you can use that symbolism to depict your own story too.”