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.
Design
October 4, 2017

150 People Attempt to Draw World’s Famous Logos Completely From Memory

Can you remember what the IKEA logo looks like? Could you draw the Starbucks mermaid without peeking? That’s the challenge that Signs.com gave to 156 Americans. In half an hour’s time, they were asked to recreate 10 famous company logos completely from memory. The results, called Branded in Memory, are fascinating; they demonstrate the wide range in which people recall some of the world’s most popular brands. After all of the logos were drawn, Signs.

Read Article

Portrait Photography
October 1, 2017

Photographer Creates Conceptual Portraits to Understand Her Evolving Identity

One of the many benefits to producing art or snapping a photograph is creative expression. Over time, you're able to use it as a way to reexamine who you are and how you’ve changed. Photographer Reylia Slaby sees this as vital to understanding her own identity and how complicated it is. When we first featured Slaby’s portrait photography in 2014, she was trying to find her identity.

Read Article

Drawing
September 29, 2017

Side-By-Side Illustrations Reveal the Two Kinds of People There Are in the World

The adage of there being “two kinds of people in the world” seems even more true nowadays, and no one more cleverly illustrates this than João Rocha. His hilarious ongoing series called 2 Kinds of People shows the little ways that folks are different. While they might seem insignificant, these quirks speak volumes about someone—and are certain to evoke strong opinions no matter how banal.

Read Article

Food Art
September 26, 2017

Ballerina-Turned-Pastry Chef Bakes Cakes with Incredibly Realistic Flowers Made of Sugar

Baking has transcended its roots as a practical activity into a conduit for artistic expression. And like art itself, baked creations can be done in a variety of styles. From cartoon character cakes to design-focused cookies, edible art takes many delicious forms. Ballerina-turned-pastry chef Maggie Austin takes a realistic approach when working on her multi-tiered cakes; she creates sugar flowers that look so lifelike that you’d never dream they were actually sweet treats.

Read Article

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.