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.
Installation
October 29, 2021

Swirling Ceramic Installations Raise Awareness For the Fragile Beauty of ‘Our Changing Seas’

Inspired by the sea, artist Courtney Mattison expresses its beauty and fragility through her large-scale ceramic installations. In creating intricate sculptures of coral reefs, she relays the importance of this underwater ecosystem—one that is under serious threat because of us. We’ve marveled over Mattison’s work before, particularly Our Changing Seas, which is an ongoing series that features ceramic sculptures depicting coral artfully arranged on walls.

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Underwater Photography
October 25, 2021

New Book Chronicles National Geographic Photographer’s Long Career of Split-View Ocean Images

What’s just below the ocean’s surface? In the wondrous images by National Geographic photographer David Doubilet, we get a glimpse into the world beneath the water. Known as the “Audubon of the sea,” Doubilet captures vivid sights that are a split view, simultaneously showing what’s happening atop the water as well as within it. The results are fascinating; a magenta jellyfish, for instance, blooms in the foreground, punctuated with a backdrop of tall pine trees.

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Tattoos
October 15, 2021

Amazing Tattoos Look Just Like Holographic Stickers Stuck to Skin

When is a sticker not a sticker? When it’s a tattoo! Tattoo artist Clayton Dias will make you do a double-take with his holographic-inspired designs. He creates body art that has the metallic shimmer of a real sticker, complete with the vertical highlights and rainbow array of colors as it captures the light. Sometimes, it appears as though the tattoo is peeling from the skin which only adds to the amazing illusions within Dias’ work.

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Animals
October 7, 2021

Legendary “Animal Whisperer” Snaps Selfies With the Most Adorable Wild Animals

Snapping a selfie is an art, and few do it better than Allan Dixon. Known as the “animal whisperer,” the Gold Coast, Australia-based content creator stole our hearts many years ago when his grinning photo next to an equally jubilant quokka went viral. Since that time, Dixon has continued to snap photos next to the smiling small wallabies along with monkeys, kangaroos, and plenty of pups.

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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.