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.
Technology
October 6, 2022

Watch a Living Plant Wield a Machete With a Robot Arm

Artist David Bowen is giving a philodendron control in his fascinating installation called Plant Machete. As the name suggests, a live plant has the power to wield a giant knife. It sounds like the work of science fiction, but the creative’s interest in robotics has culminated in a control system that “reads and utilizes the electrical noises found in a live philodendron.

Read Article

Embroidery
October 5, 2022

Embroidery Artist Paints With Thread to Meticulously Recreate NASA Satellite Imagery

Artist Danielle Currie of Satellite Stitches uses Earth’s grandeur as the inspiration for her embroidery art. Looking to NASA’s pictures as source material, she recreates the swirling beauty of satellite photography within wooden hoops. We’ve previously marveled at her ability to translate this imagery into a mesmerizing mixture of blues, greens, and gray threads. Her latest pieces have only grown more intricate since then.

Read Article

Drawing
October 4, 2022

Brand New Book Shows You How To Create Cartoon Characters Using Simple Shapes

When you’re first learning to draw, just getting started can be the most daunting part. A blank page contains a bevy of possibilities, but that can be totally overwhelming. That’s where instruction comes in handy, particularly through books. A book can teach you something new and become a reference that you look to, time and again, when you need a refresher on a technique or want inspiration.

Read Article

Funny
September 22, 2022

Someone Is Photoshopping Mr. Bean Onto the Faces of A-list Celebrities

Someone behind the Instagram account Kingdom of Bean is trying to answer a simple question. “If everyone was Mr. Bean, what would the world look like?” The Instagrammer is giving us an idea with their collection of images that superimpose the face of actor Rowan Atkinson with celebrities of all stripes. From James Corden (“James Corbean”) to Mark Zuckerberg (“Mark Zuckerbean”) to Ariana Grande (“Ariana Beande”), the artist shows that Mr.

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.