Posts by Emma Taggart

Emma Taggart

Emma Taggart is a Staff Writer and Video Editor at My Modern Met. She earned a BA in Fashion and Textile Design at the University of Ulster in Belfast. Originally from Northern Ireland, she lived in Berlin for many years, where she fostered a career in the arts, dabbling in everything from illustration and animation to music and ceramics. She now calls Edinburgh home, where she continues to work as a writer, illustrator, and ceramicist. Her ceramics, often combined with hand-painted animation frames, capture playful scenes that celebrate freedom and movement, and blend her passion for art with storytelling. Her illustrations have been featured in The Berliner Magazine as well as other print magazines and a poetry book.
Painting
March 25, 2018

Artist Paints Imaginary Ecosystems Bursting With Colorful Flora and Fauna

Portland-based artist Yellena James creates kaleidoscopic, biomorphic artworks that resemble colorful ecosystems, filled with imaginary flora and fauna. With an aim to illustrate places that are “hypnotically familiar and yet hauntingly exotic,” James’ most recent ethereal universes explore delicate organic forms and textural terrains. Rendered in her distinct, vibrant color palette on large canvases and round panels, James uses a combination of pens, inks, acrylic, and gouache paint.

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Installation
March 22, 2018

Gigantic Crocheted Doilies Take Over Gallery Walls Like Beautiful Spider Webs

Since 2011, Californian artist Ashley V. Blalock has been creating site-specific installations filled with gigantic, hand-crocheted doilies. Back in 2014, Blalock’s ongoing Keeping Up Appearances installation series was sprawling across gallery walls, stairwells, ceilings, and floors. Today, the red cotton crochet doilies continue to grow in size, as they spread across indoor and outdoor locations. Resembling giant spider webs, Blalock’s textile installations sometimes reach as high as 15 feet.

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Resources
March 19, 2018

Literal World Map Reveals the Historical Meanings of Country Names

Each country has its own fascinating history and in linguistics a country's name is often the first clue to their historic culture. This world map—created by Credit Card Compare—shows the literal translation of each country’s name, suggesting their original meanings. By using a range of sources such as The World Fact Book and Oxford Dictionaries, each country’s name was translated into its early native language, unearthing intriguing facts from around the globe.

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Painting
March 13, 2018

Artist Takes Months to Capture Every Detail of Japanese Women in Ethereal Oil Paintings

At first glance, these portraits of Japanese women look like a series of stunning photographs. However, it might surprise you to find out that they weren’t captured through a camera lens—instead, they have been rendered in oil paint by the incredibly talented Japanese artist Yasutomo Oka. Each photorealistic painting is incredibly lifelike, capturing every conceivable detail of the artist’s female subjects.

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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.