I am a printmaking artist in Central Minnesota working out of a small letterpress printshop called Bruno Press (www.mcbrunopress.com) , I inherited from my late father 18 years ago. I am very involved with my rural community as a small business owner, artist, and small town promoter. I enjoy collaboration and was fortunate to be presented with a huge artistic opportunity back in July of 2019. Internationally renowned Artist-in-Residence at Saint John’s University, Richard Bresnahan, reached out asking me to be involved with a large scale art project he was starting. Richard asked me to letterpress print the Rule of Saint Benedict in the form of a scroll that would be ensconced in the first permanent installation of the Jon Hassler Sculpture Garden on the grounds of Saint John’s Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minnesota.
He would title this project Kura: Prophetic Messenger and I would embark on the most epic project of my career. Over the course of a year, I would research The Rule and meet with Sisters from the Order of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, design the text and images, research paper, glue, and many other things I needed to understand to complete this scroll. Using Thai Mulberry paper, printing began in my humble printshop, printing started in March of 2021 and did not stop until May. I carved all 18 of the images out of linoleum and once printed, hand-colored them with watercolor and gold leaf. The final step was to glue all of the pages together to form the 36 foot scroll that is housed on a cherry wood display holder.
