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.
Art
May 10, 2016

Figurative Papier-Mâché Lamp Sculptures Illuminate a Room with Ethereal Elegance

For nearly 10 years, Sophie Mouton-Perrat and Frédéric Guibrunet have combined soft lighting with delicate paper craft to create ethereal sculptures. Working under the name Papier à êtres, the duo uses the papier mâché technique to construct life-sized women clad in elegant, billowing gowns that double as lamps. The top portion of the unconventional, all-white lantern features the ladies’ upper bodies while their pleated skirts illuminate the space.

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Art
May 3, 2016

Intricately Hard-Carved Wooden Spoons Pay Homage to Nature with Decorative Handles

Craftsman Giles Newman expresses a love for nature through the art of spoon carving. Using centuries-old sculpting techniques with an axe and knife, he chisels exquisite flowers, majestic animals, and graceful winged creatures along the handle of each wooden utensil. The one-of-a-kind pieces showcase an incredible amount of detail, depicting characteristics as delicate as petals and feathers. Although they're designed and treated for food use, they're best displayed as original works of art.

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Design
April 26, 2016

Exquisite Wooden Rings Reveal Miniature Landscapes Encapsulated in Resin

The handcrafted rings of Secret Wood contain exquisite worlds that reveal themselves as you wear them. Produced using fresh wood, resin, and beeswax, the Canadian jeweler encapsulates miniature landscapes within the transparent material. These multifaceted settings highlight places that beg exploration, such as rocky lagoons, enchanted forests, and stunning waterfalls.

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Design
April 17, 2016

Elegant Bird-Shaped Speaker Sings You a Song as It Lights Up Your Home

The ever-presence and ease of Bluetooth technology has transformed the world of speakers, allowing them serve as more than just audio magnifiers–now, without the cumbersome and visually displeasing jumble of wires, designers are afforded the ability to create decorative objects that happen to play music. One such item is JinGoo, an elegant new speaker and light device that conceals these features by cleverly taking the form of a bird in a rounded wire cage.

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My Modern Met

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