Art Reception Showcases Mary Bruno’s Stunning 36-Foot Scroll

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- An artist reception featuring Mary Bruno and The Scroll of the Rule of St. Benedict is happening later this week. It will take place on Thursday from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. in Studio C at The Paramount Center for the Arts in downtown St. Cloud.

Bruno says she was commissioned in 2020. After a lot of research, she was able to complete the project in about a year.

Sister Michaela had really broken it down for me, and the more we chatted, the more she made it understandable to me. The more I realized that I'm kind of living the Benedictine life. It's all about hard work, community, and sustainability. It's just lovely.

The Scroll of the Rule of St. Benedict is a 36-foot-long, one-of-a-kind work of art featuring 90 pages of letterpress-printed text and more than 18 hand-carved linoleum block images.

Bruno says she learned a lot about the sisters as she worked on the project for about a year in 2020.

It definitely affected me, and I think that's what we want to talk about.  I don't necessarily feel like its the religious stuff that has hit a chord with me, I feel it's the decency, and something to fell like a little bit of light in these dark times.

During the reception, there will be an onstage conversation with Sister Michaela Hedican and Mary Bruno on the process of creating the scroll.

The artist's reception is free and open to everyone.

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Bruno says the scroll has never been on display in St. Cloud before, and she is hoping to take it out on tour to more locations in the future. The Scroll of the Rule of St. Benedict is normally on display at Alcuin Library at St. John's University.  It is at the Paramount right now as part of the TEDxStCloud program.