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.
Academy
June 16, 2026

4 Tips for How Build a Creative Practice When You’re Not a “Creative Person”

Anyone can be creative, even if you don’t identify as a “creative person.” We all have creativity inside of us, but for some, it feels harder to access. But just like becoming a “gym person,” you can become a creative person—all it takes is some strategy and effort. Even the most imaginative people sometimes feel blocked, or like they’re drawing a blank (pun intended).

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Paper Art
June 11, 2026

Artist Spends 6 Years Crafting 300,000 Paper Quills for Massive Portrait of Planet Earth

Artist Alinn Akhmetbek uses paper to explore facets of our world. The material is manipulated to express concepts of humanity and ecology, such as reconciling our treatment of the planet with our connection to it. These ideas are the basis for her recently completed work titled 72 Voices of Earth. The paper art is a view of our planet from space, done on a massive scale.

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Academy
June 9, 2026

Stencil Art Is Everywhere, and Here’s How To Do It Yourself

Stencil art has a long and rich history throughout humankind. The act of stenciling—a device used to apply a design on a surface—can be traced back to ancient cave art and is still going strong today, from craft projects to fine art paintings to street art. Stenciling is a great way to reproduce a design, making it especially useful for artwork that requires a repeating motif.

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Art
June 4, 2026

3 Ibiza Nightclubs Have Been Transformed Into Contemporary Art Galleries Until October

Music is a powerful form of expression, and its accompanying clubbing culture is a natural way to combine it with visual art. From the stage design to the lighting to the outfits worn by clubgoers, art and electronic club music go hand in hand. Ibiza, a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea, is the premier clubbing destination, and now, three venues have made it the place to see incredible art.

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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.