About the Artist:

The artist Brian Dedeian is a born and raised NJ native with a professional background in Environmental Science and multidisciplinary craft person. His TBI story started September 2nd, 2021 after being struck in the head by a falling tree. He sustained severe fractures to his temporal bone and damage to his temporal lobe, facial palsy, and bilateral conductive hearing loss. While recovering from his injuries he picked up a new hobby of sewing while revisiting an old hobby of golf. Both activities vastly increased Brian’s ability to recover from his injuries with sewing allowing him to craft while being unable to participate in his other crafts and work, while golf allowed him to enjoy the outdoors again walking his home course every week. 

His artwork combines different styles of art, gaining inspiration from Japanese Kintsugi and Neurographic art. The patchwork is first laid out using neurographic techniques with chalk learned through brain injury support groups, then sewn together using gold embroidery thread resembling the gold lacquer used in Kintsugi pottery. The artist hopes to portray the fracturing nature of a TBI to one's physical, emotional, and professional life while honoring the 

neuroplasticity that drives resilience in the community. Inspiration is drawn from other young adults with brain injuries and their kindness in the face of adversity.