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.
Sculpture
December 27, 2018

Amazing Engineer Transforms Ordinary Sheets of Paper into Tactile Tessellations

Artist Matthew Shlian transforms ordinary sheets of paper into incredible three-dimensional tessellations. Using a series of complex, repeating folds, Shlian’s paper sculptures take on a life of their own. Many feature spikes that jut from a flattened surface and the individual elements are positioned to move in giant waves across the entire piece. Previously, Shlian’s work was clad in a black-and-white color palette.

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Sculpture
December 19, 2018

Artist Turns Medieval Monsters from Illuminated Manuscripts into Colorful Piñatas

Contemporary artist Roberto Benavidez finds inspiration in imagery and literature from hundreds of years ago. Influenced by works like Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights, he manages to fuse the famous source materials with elements that are significant to his own life. Benavidez grew up in rural southern Texas where the party piñata is commonplace. He uses the crepe paper creations as the basis for his sculptures.

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Drawing
November 29, 2018

Honest Comics About Being Single Are Relatable for Anyone Who Flies Solo

Being single can be an illuminating time for a person. After all, it’s only when we navigate the world solo that we learn who we really are. But just because the experience brings us closer to self-actualization, the very relatable truth is that singledom is not all sunshine and rainbows. Flying solo can be an exercise in frustration (especially the dating part) and downright lonely.

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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.