Posts by Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met and Manager of My Modern Met Store. She is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art where she earned her BFA in Illustration and MFA in Illustration Practice. Sara is also an embroidery illustrator and writer living in Seattle, Washington. She runs Bear&Bean, a studio where she stitches pet portraits and other beloved creatures. She chronicles the creativity of others through her website Brown Paper Bag and newsletter, Orts. Her latest book is Threads of Treasure: How to Make, Mend, and Find Meaning Through Thread, published in 2014. Sara’s work has been recognized in Be Creative With Workbox, Embroidery Magazine, American Illustration, on Iron and Wine’s album Beast Epic, among others. When she’s not stitching or writing, Sara enjoys planning things that bring together the craft community. She is the co-founder of Camp Craftaway, a day camp for crafty adults with hands-on workshops in the Seattle area.
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.

Read Article


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.

Read Article


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.

Read Article


January 25, 2018

“Honest” Movie Posters Reveal the Amusing Truth Behind 2018 Oscar-Nominated Films

The 2018 Academy Award nominations were recently announced with some interesting surprises revealed and milestones achieved. Horror films seem to rarely find a place in the “Best Picture” category, but Get Out is one of the contenders in this coveted section. Rachel Morrison also made history by becoming the first female nominee in the Cinematography category for her work on the Netflix film Mudbound.

Read Article