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.
September 3, 2016

Wire Sculptures Resembling Energetic Line Drawings Capture Animals’ Graceful Movements

Artist Candice Bees creates elegant animal sculptures from bound wires, capturing graceful movements of both winged and four-legged creatures. Originally trained as an illustrator, she found its two dimensions hampering her creative spirit. “Since finding wire as a medium,” she tells us in an email, “I cannot keep up with my brain!” Bees has spent the past two years working with wire, and she continues to push the limits of what this material can do.

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August 29, 2016

Master Architect Frank Gehry Designs Koi Lamps Gracefully “Swimming” in Mid-Air

Architect Frank Gehry is famous throughout the world for his modern, dynamic buildings that boast awe-inspiring designs. What he’s less well-known for, however, is his work in the fine art world. Between 1984 and 1986, he produced Fish Lamps, a series of illuminated sculptures featuring graceful koi whose bodies twist and turn as if they’re swimming through water. Gehry’s exploration into this realm of creatures influenced his later architectural work.

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August 21, 2016

Sculptor Expertly Fools the Eye with Surreal Ceramics That Look Like Wood

Sculptor Christopher David White is known for his ceramic creations that double as fantastic optical illusions. It's hard to believe the hyperrealistic pieces are made of clay, as they resemble knotty wood and dilapidated cardboard. These visual effects demonstrate incredible artistic skill, and White utilizes multiple hand-construction methods—such as modeling, molding, and casting—in order to produce the incredible textures that make his sculptures so confounding.

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