Dressed in red and talking incessantly, Laurencia and I sat down to chat (and shelter ourselves from the sun) right next to our MuSA. The young artist’s real name is Laura Rodríguez Ruiz, but she has adopted the nickname Laurencia, given to her by her friend (and HC writer) Alanis Font, as her artistic name. Laurencia, twenty years old and an Añasco native, is currently in her third year of studies in Fine Arts and Art Theory. This colegial has enjoyed meeting people randomly, as well as challenged herself with tough professors like her Humanities professor, Dr. Lydia González, who inspired her and opened her eyes to the academic world she had just entered. This professor, along with Dr. José Antonio López, of the Music program, and Alfredo Ortiz, a Fine Arts professor, have also inspired her in many ways by boosting her dedication and perseverance in her concentration.
Laurencia began painting when she was three years old, when she would pick up her pencils and draw parts of the human body, a topic that has always attracted her attention. By the time she was 9 years old, she was under the tutelage of José “Pepe” Zamora, an art teacher, who introduced her to oil paintings. Under his mentorship, she learned that art was accompanied by quite some discipline and patience. Apart from this, Laurencia talked to me about the time she fully discovered her passion: “You know the goosebumps you get when you’re at a dance presentation, at the theatre or in an art show?,” she asked me, and with a nod I thought of my own experience in the performing arts as a dancer, “That was the moment. I was like ‘I like this, I want to try this, oh I’m doing good with this, I want to explore more.’”
Laurencia has participated in one of UPRM’s local exhibits, its annual students’ art exhibit at the Chardón Art Gallery last semester. Two of her works were exhibited: “Rufus portoricensis”, a sculpture made of cat bones and chicken feathers, and “Mensajería encapsulada para un infante soñador.” She’s also considering submitting art to participate in the Bienal de Arte de Ponce in the UPR-Ponce. Apart from this, she plans and hopes to keep studying to complete both of her degrees, along with a minor in Education at the same time. Admitting that her friends have always seen her as a teacher in the future, becoming an art teacher is actually her dream: “I don’t want to just leave my [future] students with the fundamentals; I also want to instill in them something that inspires them to search and be curious about art.” Although, before she makes this aspiration of hers come true, Laurencia wants to travel to Spain and Italy to enrich her art knowledge, and learn more after completing her BA.
“Rufus portoricensis” on display at the annual Student’s Art Exhibit at the Chardón Art Gallery this past May.
Her motto, “the best works in the world are made in silence,” is something she lives by in order to make her dreams come true. Not only does Laurencia desire to bring out the artistic muse in her future students, she also hopes that the art she leaves behind will be worthy enough to be studied alike with those of her favorite artists, which include Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Da Vinci, Antonio Martorell, Francisco Oller, and José Campeche. For her, life is “the one opportunity each person to do whatever he or she desires with that small pinch (life) and develop it in time. In this, nobody should give up (certain restrictions apply).”