Posts by Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled "Embroidered Life" that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
Street Art
July 16, 2019

Mind-Bending Optical Illusion Murals Turn Ordinary Buildings into Giant 3D Abstractions

Street artist Peeta transforms ordinary buildings into three-dimensional abstract forms with his optical illusion art. Once the Italian creative is finished working his painted magic, the structures are suddenly transformed into twisted forms with cutouts that make them appear as giant sculptures rather than mundane dwellings. Peeta’s latest piece showcasing his mind-bending imagery is on a building in Mannheim, Germany, painted for the 2019 Stadt.Wand.Kunst mural project.

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Animals
July 11, 2019

Beautiful Silver Cat Sisters Share the Most Mesmerizing Green Eyes

You can’t help but get lost in the eyes of cat siblings Xafi and Auri. The two Russian Blue felines have bright green eyes that shine like jewels with their silver coats. This mesmerizing combination steals the focus of any photo they’re in, but the duo doesn’t let their beauty hide the fact that they’re silly, too. The bonded pair regularly stick their tongues out for the camera or even point them at each other.

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Sculpture
July 10, 2019

These Surreal Plant Sculptures Look Like Your Garden Came to Life as Humans

Artist Émeric Chantier reimagines people and animals as surreal plant sculptures. Utilizing a combination of faux greenery and real natural elements, he constructs grassy forms that have small twigs and trees sprouting from them. Chantier pays special attention to details like muscle definition and overall proportion, and the results are creations that feel as though they are strange beings from another world—ones that have an uncanny connection to ours.

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Drawing
July 8, 2019

Interview: How a Job as a Letter Carrier Helped This Artist Create His Retro-Inspired Illustrations

Artist Nat Reed creates retro-inspired illustrations with a surreal twist. Inspired by the mid-century modern aesthetic, he has taken this iconic post-war design period—particularly its architecture and industrial design—and interpreted it through what he calls “Familiar Modern.” But Reed is not interested in simply regurgitating the past.

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My Modern Met

Celebrating creativity and promoting a positive culture by spotlighting the best sides of humanity—from the lighthearted and fun to the thought-provoking and enlightening.