There are many, many new items here now, some even that he had forgotten to put in his regular store, some new exclusives to us.

There will also be many additions in the coming days by Bethalynne Bajema

Myke will also be putting up many many more originals here in the Archive over the next day or two as well, for those who like to collect original pieces – aside from what is already here, there will be a number of additional engravings of all sizes and themes, as well as some small scuptures and perhaps even some wood and brass works.

So, please do take a look, everything is one sale right now. I don’t think there is a thing in the store that has not been at least somewhat reduced. This week will be the very best time to acquire some original art, and a very good time to purchase prints and other merchandise as well.

Share This

The Vineyard depicts a strange sort of harvest, or perhaps a strange means of conception, making for a very Lovecraftian strange-fiction themed image, brilliantly, vividly colored, yet oh so dark.

Printed in 200 years archival pigment ink, heavy metallic stock in order to best bring out the rich colors and contrast of this vibrant piece.

A UV-protective lustre finish also helps protect the print against moisture and scratches.

Print size (edge to edge) is 11 x 14 inches, and can be purchased at mykeamend.com, or at Beth and Myke’s Joint Etsy Account: Ettadiem

Share This

The original is painted on a 48 x 24 inch birch panel in acrylics.

These are not mere photographic prints, nor are they at-home inkjet printings.

This print is finely reproduced on 11×14-inch heavyweght 200-year archival metallic paper, with epson ultrachrome k3 archival inks, and coated in a UV protective luster finish.

To finish it off, each of this limited edition of only 75 is signed and hand-embellished by Myke Amend in silver archival ink.

This print will be available for a very limited time, and will only be available through the Myke Amend store, The Miskatonic Archive Store, and Etta Diem.

Share This

Travel Log, 27th of June, 2008, or 1908, I can never tell anymore.
Mechanical Insects in the Forest

A small path presented itself in the foliage and we used this spot to slip into the wall of green. About four minutes of walking into the forest presented us with our first novelty. Or well, perhaps novelty is not the best word. Aberration? No. Weird stuffs? Yes, we were presented with weird stuffs in the form of a thick old tree that was covered in clock faces. One would think there would be a neatly designed sign beside the tree to explain its strange shrine of visual time, like most strange or historical markers have in New England. But no. The tree stood alone in a small clearing and a vast variety of clock faces in just as many sizes lay hooked to the tree.

Upon looking a little closer it became apparent that not one of the clocks was keeping the same time. The difference in some may only be minutes, but the exact time was not to be had from any of them. Michael leaned in to have a closer look at this and jumped back as a strange crickety creature came between him and the clock face he was staring at.

Now, this creature looked like an insect, but its movements seemed very sluggish and labored, as though its small body was carrying nearly too much weight for its wings. Looking closely we could see that it indeed was nearly too heavy for its wispy wings, as its body was made of a gold metal. It landed on the top of one of the clock faces, fidgeted with its legs around the top of the clock till it got a strong purchase on a hook hanging from a nob on the tree. It gave its wings a frenzied buzzing before lifting off and taking the clock with it. The clocks surrounding the newly departed one all clanked back into place, leaving only a small spot on the tree visible.

Another metal insect of a different design came along and followed the same routine. And then another. We were so busy watching this strange display that we almost missed the large and labored beetle moving across the ground. He had gears sticking out from its bum and some type of circular reading glass on its back. Behind it it dragged a clock. Slowly it moved over the tree’s thick trunk legs and up the side of the tree. It found one of the empty nobs and placed the clock face on it.

The whole thing was very efficient and timely, this more obvious the longer we stayed to watch. But the whole thing was terribly surreal. I mean, to what purpose was this tree and its many clocks here? And who had crafted these mechanical insects to tend to the tree and its coming and going clocks? A mystery very tempting to solve. The only problem was the sun was starting to set, and long shadows were starting to darken up the forest. We feared staying much longer might lead to us not finding our way out again.

In a rash move, desperate for some sort of information about this scene, Michael reached out and grabbed one of the larger mechanical creatures off of the tree before it could fly away with a clock. The clock fell to the ground and its glass face broke. The glass shards caused the clock hands to bend and stop moving steadily forward. The strangest noise filled the forest as this was going on. It was as if somewhere in the wooded area someone was moaning over head and it vibrated within the trees.

As we tried to ignore this strange sound, Michael took his pocket knife from his back pocket and used one of the thin blades to remove the cover of the dragonfly’s back. Inside were more mechanical parts, lots of turning cogs and rotating parts. But resting neatly in the middle of all of this was a small, rolled up piece of parchment. Michael held the dragonfly’s metal bits apart so that I could slip my fingers inside of it and remove the parchment.

I unwrapped the aged looking little thing and squinted to read the very small script that was very elegantly written on the page. It read: Eleanor Patch, stolen time twelve minutes. Taken from her at four o’clock in the afternoon on a Tuesday. She is to be returned eight minutes of that, at three o’clock on a Thursday. The Fates are all in agreement on this solicitation and request.

At reading this Michael dropped the dragonfly and both of us stepped away from it and the tree. The bug turned, seeming to stare up at us from its mesh looking fake eyes. It soon recovered and took back to the air, rushing away from the tree. Another of the large beetles had come and was slowly dragging the broken clock away, while smaller, almost tick like insects were busy eating the remains of the glass and small clock bits.

The two of us turned from this scene and quickly left the forest the way we’d come. I think subconsciously we were trying to forget our steps as if to mentally brush dirt over the path we’d taken so that it would remain hidden. It was a strange sight and despite how beautiful the insects were, and the clock faces they tended, there was an overwhelming sensation of something being wrong with the area. Some mysteries are like that, and the sensation of wrongness is meant -to the wise willing to heed it- keep people away. We heeded the sensation.

Back home we tried to put the event behind us and simply watch a movie. The sound of soft gnawing on metal brought our attention back to the car. Instead of worrying about witch doctors and mechanics again, Michael simply grabbed our large and ferocious (in theory) feline, put his harness and leash on him, and took him outside to the car. He opened the hood, set the cat down and pointed to a pair of eyes peering out from behind the engine. “Nom noms! Get him!” He commanded the feline. There were a few icky sounds while Hunter rid the car of its new infestation of gremlins, but it was pretty clean when I went down to retrieve him. And thankfully we’ve yet to have to clean up any gremlin heavy hairballs on the carpet.

Like many of the things we encounter in our shared lives, Michael and I have been trying to artfully recreate the insects we witnessed and the clocks they tended to. Please find enclosed on the next page of this journal a few paint sketches of what we saw.

. .. . .. … .. …. .. … .. . .. .

Mechanical Insects in the Forest Copyright (c)2008 Bethalynne Bajema
Mechanical insects done by both Myke Amend & Bethalynne Bajema (c)2008
Insect and Clock collages by Bethalynne Bajema (c)2008

Share This

Adventure Mission Generator copyright © 2008 Myke Amend

Share This

Since long before his anticipated arrival, he has spent many aeons painting, drawing, engraving, and dreaming the death of mankind and the end of all life was we know it —and dreaming the days gone by (He also designs handbills and aethernet ‘sites’ for the evil corporate faces of the mysterious Elder gods).

In a time heavily influenced by hotel heiresses, boy bands, game shows, reality TV, and people who wrestle each other for spheroids, he has been influenced greatly by Earth ages present and past — longing for a return to those days where human society turned its ugly head towards more meaningful things such as science and invention, exploration, literature, and the arts.

Out of this comes a love for anachronistic art mediums, styles, and concepts—mixing them with modern materials, themes, or subject matter, and twisting them into horrid, the surreal, or the bizarre for reasons most humans are incapable of fathoming, even in their most horrid nightmares.

His style reflects a love for strange fiction and tales of the weird, ancient futuristic relics from a Victorian era aside our own.

Myke is believed to reside in the future and the past, somewhere on the Northern American content, lurking within the mists or swimming in the surrounding shadows, as the driving force behind approaching storms, or in the darkest corners of our mortal minds.

We are unsure of how or why these artifacts, painted, carved, or forged by Myke Amend, have fallen into our hands, but we are proud the share them here.

below: “The Wait” (painting) and “Hope: the Light at the End” (painting)

All of these artworks are available through the Miskatonic Archive Electric Store.
Many are also available at www.mykeamend.com

above: “Heptameron” (digital painting) and “Awake” (engraving)

All images within this post are copyright © 2008 Myke Amend, and used with permission by this site.

Share This