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.
Design
August 5, 2014

Wind Reactive Ink Alters Clothing Color Based on Contact with the Air

The air is made up of many different components that are products of our environment, including pollution, moisture, and more. London-based artist Lauren Bowker and her material exploration studio THE UNSEEN have developed a form of ink that's reactive to the different fluctuations in the wind as well as our own body. It's demonstrated in a couture capsule collection entitled Air, which was designed for Swarovski and presented during London's Fashion Week 2014.

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Art
July 23, 2014

Thousands of Torn Paper Pieces Recreate Classic Paintings from the 19th Century

Printed matter like news magazines, advertising campaigns, and comic books are just some of the raw materials used in Vik Muniz's meticulously-crafted collages. The artist, who lives and works in both Rio de Janeiro and New York, takes irregularly-sized strips of paper and assembles the hundreds (if not thousands) of individual parts into one cohesive image. Muniz depicts classic paintings from the 19th century by artists like Manet, Degas, and Van Gogh.

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Design
July 17, 2014

Tiny Hawaiian Cabin Feels Roomy with Just 200 Sq. Feet of Space

Who says that small spaces can't feel large? Artist and woodworker Jay Nelson recently completed a 200 square foot wood cabin that looks anything but tiny. It's located on the Hawaiian island of Kauai and was built in less than two months from 25,000 pounds of salvaged redwood. Now, Nelson has a space that's perfect for hosting small gatherings or escaping on a tranquil getaway, all while surrounded by an idyllic tropical landscape.

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Design
July 10, 2014

Giant Wooden Maze Reveals Visual Clarity at Its Center

Visitors to the National Building Museum in Washington DC can prepare to get lost. In a maze, that is. The Danish architecture firm BIG, lead by architect Bjarke Ingels, recently installed a giant concave wooden maze inside of the Museum's Great Hall. It's appropriately called BIG Maze and is 18 square meters that's built using Baltic Birch plywood. BIG developed the installation's form by combining different styles of mazes throughout history.

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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.