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.
Photography
June 8, 2015

Portraits Capture the Completely Mesmerized Faces of Children Watching TV

How do you relax after a long day? If you're like many people, then you might watch television to unwind. Brooklyn-based photographer Donna Stevens created a fascinating series that shows just how engrossing this activity is, specifically with children. The project is called Idiot Box, and it features dramatic portraits of youngsters staring blankly at a television positioned in the distance. Stevens' photos aren't trying to be hyperbolic.

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Design
June 3, 2015

Minimalist Staircase Elegantly Frames Built-In Bookshelf

Netherlands-based firm Marc Koehler Architects designed a staircase that doubles as a bookshelf for its homeowners. The elegant structure features a set of minimalist, white wooden stairs that frame a large, well-used shelving unit below. It's a creative way to store the residents' bevy of books whose arrangement mimics the shape of the steps. This staircase was a redesign for the Amsterdam-based house.

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Art
May 19, 2015

Artist Creates Strikingly Complex Fusions of Photos and Drawings

Paris-based artist Bertrand Flachot fuses photography and drawing in his collection of beautifully complex landscapes. Artworks featuring cities, mountains, and rolling hills begin as colorful photos that are then drawn over with the fluid marks of a pen. It's reminiscent of something you'd find in a sketchbook as Flachot includes lines and objects that weren't in the original photographs. With these handcrafted additions, the artist is creating similar-feeling, yet entirely different locales.

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Art
May 9, 2015

Cat Tattoos May Be the Cutest Way to Break the Law in South Korea

The unfortunate truth is that cat lovers can't take their furry friends wherever they go. When they leave home, their favorite feline has to stay. There's one way to ease that separation, though, and it's by tattooing them on the body. Sol Tattoo in Seoul, South Korea permanently inks clients' skin with a portrait of their cat. That way, it's a little reminder of them forever.

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My Modern Met

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