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.
Photo Contest
February 20, 2018

Stunning Winners of 2018 Birth Photography Contest Show How Amazing Moms Are

Few experiences are as life-changing as giving birth. From the moment a mother discovers she’s pregnant to her baby’s first breath, it can be hard to express what this time means. But when words fail, birth photography ensures that the experience is beautifully immortalized; these specialty photographers capture maternity, labor, and life after the baby arrives.

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Street Photography
February 16, 2018

Discreet Photos of NYC Subway Riders in the 1970s Show an Era Before Smartphones

The era before smartphones represented a very different time for subway patrons. If you didn’t bring a newspaper or ride with someone you knew, you’d be forced to quietly contemplate your own thoughts rather than stare at an entrancing screen. Photographer Helen Levitt discreetly chronicled these simpler, technology-free times in her candid images from the late 1970s. The black and white photos are a quiet look at the everyday folks who rode the graffiti-decorated subway.

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Architecture
February 7, 2018

College Student Didn’t Like Dorm Life, So He Built a Tiny Home on Wheels for $15,000

As the cost of attending college goes up in the U.S., students are coming up with creative ways to save money on (and for) their schooling. A college student named Bradley from Jacksonville, Florida has avoided the dorm life by opting to build his own tiny home on wheels. Nestled among trees with a creek nearby, he calls his 230-square-foot abode Rolling Quarters.

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Painting
February 5, 2018

Surreal Astronaut Painting Puts a Contemporary Spin on Famous M.C. Escher Print

Artist Nick Flook, aka Flooko, explores the world of painting through astronauts. Creating atmospheric scenes of the natural world, cosmonauts walk the Earth in full uniformed attire. Without seeing their faces, they are anonymous and devoid of conventional human contact; aside from other astronauts, they are alone. It’s as if they are intrepid explorers—the first ones to walk on a seemingly alien ground.

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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.