Posts by Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled "Embroidered Life" that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.

February 27, 2026

Celebrities Are Sharing Their Fresh-Faced Skin in ‘No-Makeup Selfies’ Trend

Stars are just like us. And that means they have real, human faces with acne scars, rosacea, and sun damage. But a lot of times, you’d never know it by the glam that celebrities have on the red carpet. Beauty standards still largely dictate that people, particularly women, present themselves to the world in flawless skin devoid of pores and imperfections. Of course, that’s not the reality.

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February 24, 2026

Massive Land Murals Portray Portraiture on the Frigid Canadian Landscape

Earth is the ultimate canvas for artist David Popa. His oeuvre centers on a unique collaboration with the land, creating massive murals on the likes of a pristine sandbank in Norway, hardened lava in Iceland, and a protruding rock in Finland. The powerful imagery, often figurative, remains only until the land reclaims it. His work confronts the uncomfortable truth that it will most certainly disappear, adding a sense of preciousness to every in-person viewing.

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February 23, 2026

Internet Is Rejoicing That Punch, the Baby Monkey Who Clung to His Stuffed Animal, Is Making Friends

Things are looking better for Punch the monkey. In case you aren’t familiar with the internet’s newest adorable celebrity, Punch (or Panchi) is a baby monkey born at the Ichikawa City Zoo near Tokyo. His mother rejected him at birth, but Punch was luckily saved by zoo caretakers who looked after him and gave him a surrogate—and now iconic—orangutan stuffed toy from IKEA.

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February 19, 2026

This List of the “Correct Order” for Showering Has People Divided

Taking a shower is essentially an order of operations. It’s a routine so familiar that you could do it in the dark. But is there a “right” way to shower? Threads user Ryan Shrime (@ryanshrime) sparked debate after he shared “the correct order for a shower,” which many emphatically disagreed with. First, let’s look at Shrime’s shower recipe. He begins by shampooing and rinsing. After, he washes his face.

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