She was a faculty member at the Rhode Island School of Design, and was known for her mixed media paintings and collages.
[5] She studied under painter Edward Loper and exhibited with Dell Pryor in Detroit.
[6] Bruton worked at RISD starting in 1992, serving as painting department head from 2001 to 2003, and as interim dean of graduate studies from 2003 to 2005.
[8] Many of her collages employ mundane objects as the key to getting at a deeper memory or concept.
[11] Bruton received the Blanche E. Colman Award from BNY Mellon in 1999.