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.
Creative Products
June 22, 2020

22 Creative Kitchen Tools That Put the “Fun” in Functional

Cooking in your kitchen is usually time well spent, but if you've been whipping up something tasty on a regular basis, it might be time to upgrade your cooking utensils. While you might be tempted to look for a plain wooden spoon or a ho-hum vegetable peeler, why not consider going a more playful route? There are plenty of playful kitchen tools that will add some whimsy to even the most boring cooking tasks.

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Architecture
June 16, 2020

People Are Installing “Sand Pools” in Their Backyard to Bring the Beach to Them

Wish you could bring the beauty of the beach to your own backyard? Now you can! Thanks to the Spanish company Piscinas de Arena NaturSand, your already existing pool can be transformed into a sandy oasis just beyond the walls of your home. With the white sands and clear blue water, you’ll feel like you're seaside—even if you're landlocked. Any beachgoer knows that sand can get everywhere if you’re not careful.

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Art
June 10, 2020

Quilted Portraits Honor the Stories of Black Men and Women Who Are Forgotten by History

Artist Bisa Butler paints with fabric. Through stunning contemporary quilts, she crafts life-sized historical portraits of Black men, women, and children whose stories may have been forgotten or completely overlooked. Using a variety of fabrics, Butler employs a painterly approach to how she produces her work. She layers fabrics as a painter would layer pigment and pieces each element together—down to the highlight on a nose or the shading on a lower lip.

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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.