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Assistant Professor Felicia Francine Dean began experimenting with Appalachian bedcover weaving patterns as part of a residency in 2020. Her investigation into the history and technique behind the patterns led to an ongoing, five-piece collaborative project鈥攖itled Encoded Narratives鈥攚hich incorporates tactile and digital elements.

Dean partnered with Benjamin Sechrest, a practicing artist and Time-Based Arts candidate in UT鈥檚 School of Art, to illuminate the histories of Black weavers in Middle and East Tennessee. Their collaboration integrates jacquard weaving, a technique that allows for complex patterning using computerized loom setups, alongside time-based media to broaden these traditional forms.

One of the works from the series, Momentum, is currently featured in , a prestigious triennial exhibition in Pittsburgh, PA, hosted by Contemporary Craft in partnership with Brew House Arts. The competitive show received over 400 submissions, with only 36 artists selected to present their work across the two venues.

Dean fuses the historical patterns with Afrofuturism to explore what enslaved Black artisans were constrained from creating during the 19th century.

鈥淭he patterns are written in numbers, and it鈥檚 not a direct translation,鈥� Dean said. 鈥淥nce I transcribe the language based on the mechanics of the floor loom, I deconstruct the pattern to create new woven structures. Simultaneously, I communicate with Benjamin on how the information impacts the historical weaving pattern. He formulates an approach implementing the video technology, which expands on the organization of the visual composition for creating new woven works.鈥�

The video component will eventually be part of a larger-scale design installation in which woven patterning is animated and projected as moving imagery. Inspired by the way families once used weavings as backdrops for portraits, the videos will extend the function of these textiles into immersive, spatial storytelling.

鈥淭hey were prized possessions,鈥� she said. 鈥淔urther exploration of the weaving patterns gives voice to those not heard at the time. It鈥檚 also to show how when limitations of freedom are put on people and their creativity, how it limits people into a specific structure for what they are producing, though their imagination of the possibilities soared.鈥�

Momentum is a handwoven jacquard textile composed of cotton, rayon, nylon, and polyester, framed with ebonized cherry wood and linen trim.

鈥淚t illustrates the variety of pattern variations that I achieved and designed,鈥� said Dean, 鈥渨hile still retaining glimpses of the historical precedent.鈥�

The work is on view through Saturday, August 30, at Brew House Arts.