Jan 29, 2026 -Jan 29, 2027

Wings and Wildlife showcases the mosaic creations of award-winning stained glass artist Laura Ruprecht from St. Cloud, Minnesota. Through intricately crafted mosaics, Ruprecht highlights Minnesota's endangered birds and other wildlife. Each piece serves as an ode to their elegance and as a testament to their deserved reverence.

Focusing on her interests in the natural world, Ruprecht’s work aims to foster a sense of responsibility towards preserving Minnesota's natural heritage. Her work has been exhibited across Minnesota and nationally, including at the Minnesota Zoo, the Minnesota State Fair, the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, and the Duluth Art Institute. She is a three-time recipient of the Creative Support for Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board and has received recognition for the quality and craftsmanship of her work.

Since 2012, Laura has created public art projects across Minnesota and, as a Rostered Teaching Artist with the Central Minnesota Arts Board, has led school and community residencies for over a decade. In 2020, she established her St. Cloud studio, where she creates original mosaics, accepts commissions, teaches, and coordinates community-based public art projects that foster connections and appreciation for art and nature.

Artist statement:
I create mosaics from hand cut stained glass, arranging fragments into images that carry both personal meaning and universal stories. Each shard of glass carries its own weight, its own sharpness, and its own potential for beauty. It can wound if handled carelessly, yet when placed with care and attention, it becomes part of something whole. Life has broken and reshaped me in many ways, but the act of piecing together both glass and meaning has shown me that wholeness can be discovered in unexpected forms.

Mosaics naturally embody the balance between fragility and strength. My work is not only about arranging colors and shapes into images, but also about creating a visual metaphor for living with difference, for adapting, and for finding meaning in what first appears incomplete.

I am particularly drawn to animals and natural forms because they carry behaviors and patterns that resonate with my own experiences. They help me frame my own story within a broader narrative of survival and renewal, where each fragment of experience has its place.

The making of a mosaic is a constant practice of decision making. This unpredictability is part of the process, and it reflects the uncertainty of daily life with a disability. I have learned that within these moments of uncertainty, there is room for discovery, growth, and joy.

Nature gives me a language to tell these stories. I invite viewers to see their own reflections in the fragments, to recognize the beauty that emerges not despite brokenness but because of it.

Every mosaic I create is both a personal act of healing and a communal offering. It is also an invitation for others to consider how their own lives, with all their fractures and repairs, come together to form something whole and meaningful.

www.lauralizmosaicbiz.com
Instagram: @lauralizmosaicbiz