A celebratory weekend: Sights, sounds and stories from Commencement and Reunion 2026

During senior year, soon-to-graduate Brown-RISD dual degree student Ian Haut has been preparing an exhibition for the Lincoln Field Building, home to Brown's planetary and environmental scientists.

"FOLIATION" features three tufted rug tapestries, all inspired by research he conducted in the Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences (DEEPS). To coincide with Commencement Weekend, the exhibit opens Friday, May 22, at 3 p.m.

Haut, who is graduating with a Brown degree in Earth, climate and biology, and a RISD degree in illustration, says the work is a perfect melding of his scholarly interests.

"I typically work in either fiber arts or digital 3D, and my work almost always revolves around nature, the Earth and environment…" he said. "I love to develop ways for people to engage more in environmental and Earth sciences through interactive experiences."

The idea started with work Haut was doing with DEEPS faculty member Ingrid Daubar.

"I was mapping rockfalls in a Martian crater, and I spent hours looking at this one crater," Haut said. "I started really appreciating it visually, and I kept being struck by the beautiful patterns I was seeing in the images."

Supported by Brown Design Workshop and Brown Arts Institute grants, Haut went to work turning scientific images into tapestries. One draws on images from NASA's HiRISE camera, which flies aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Another draws on images taken from the edges of the Antarctic ice sheet. The installation takes its name from a layering process that occurs in the formation of metamorphic rock layers.

"The art of 'FOLIATION' evokes that intertwining of Earth structures," Haut said, "as layers of satellite images are woven together, first digitally and then through fiber art, to produce tapestries showcasing the vibrant and layered visuals of the natural world."