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
September 14, 2015

Artist Repurposes Old Books Into 3D Sculptures By Carefully Folding Their Pages

English artist Nicola Nobo transforms old books into intricate sculptures by meticulously folding their pages. Each sheet of paper is individually creased, and together, the hundreds of pages create three-dimensional designs between their hard covers. Nobo's excellent craftsmanship, with its even pleats and smooth outlines, makes her lettering, skulls, and animals instantly recognizable. Though these book sculptures are spectacular, Nobo doesn't typically sell her actual folded creations.

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Design
September 8, 2015

“Cat Jenga” is a Brand New Challenging Game for Feline Fanatics

If you consider yourself both a cat lover and a Jenga master, then Cat Jenga might be the perfect new challenge for you. A Chinese company called Common has developed a brand new version of Jenga by cleverly combining cutout kitty poses with the game’s precarious stacking challenge. Players have to balance the wooden cat-shaped pieces on top of one another, as high as they can, with the hope that the feline silhouettes don't topple over.

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Art
August 31, 2015

Prismatic Sheets of Glass Change Color When Layered Over Each Other

Crystal prisms are dazzling spectacles that refract light, slowing it down into different wavelengths that produce a variety of rainbow hues. With this phenomenon in mind, designers Thomas Vailly and Laura Lynn Jansen have created 101.86, a project that artificially reproduces the natural properties of a crystal found in the highlands of Iceland. The qualities of the stone have been translated into sheets of clear, treated glass.

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Design
August 17, 2015

1950s Airstream Trailer Restored as Modern Mobile Home with Cozy Wood Interior

An iconic Airstream trailer doesn't have to be completely vintage to still retain its charm, and the transformation of a 1954 Flying Cloud trailer proves it. Timeless Travel Trailers restored this unit into a modern, mobile getaway by updating its decor and mechanics while maintaining its shiny, hand-polished exterior. In its former life, the Airstream was used as a hunting and fishing lodge near Goose Lake, Oregon.

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