The clear morning sky was overtaken by one very large storm cloud. It threatened and grumbled, but never let loose of any rain or real wind. It just hung there in the sky looking grumpy and still. It was a giant bruise adding a beautiful background contrast to the nearly violent green of the summer trees. I ventured out to enjoy the appearance of a storm without the somewhat wet and bothersome benefits of a real one.

As I was walking through the forest behind my house I heard strange giggling. It wasn’t really childlike, but neither did it belong to an adult. There was a metallic quality to it. I pulled back a gnarled juniper tree branch and was greeted by a collection of creatures I’d rather not describe. I had read about these creatures, in fairy tales meant more for adults in need of some type of morality lesson, but the descriptions could have been better as I sat looking at the real thing. One of the strangely hooded creatures, with terribly long horns, held a piece of paper and was reading from it.

Maliciousness and strife,
and all kinds of vice,
that’s what scary little girls are made of.

Dark clouds and thunder
and creeping bed monsters under
that’s what scary little girls are made of.

Dead teddy bear picnics
tainted places and broken doll faces
that’s what scary little girls are made of.

As I watched the other creatures in attendance giggle, that strange sound of theirs collectively echoing around the forest, I decided it was time to go. Artwork by Bethalynne Bajema, three of nine in the collection. Available here.

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Upon arriving to the Archive this morning I was greeted by a small crowd of people hanging about the bulletin board in the front hall. It appears Myke Amend slipped into the Archive last night and once again favored us with some of his artwork. We’re not sure if his intent is something meant for a child’s room or to harass the interns. If it’s the former, I fear for the temperament of a child that would it enjoy it on their walls. If it’s the latter, well, one can never harass the interns enough. Available here.

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

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I was greeted by the most extraordinary collage creations this morning, with a small note trying to convince me the artist responsible for them had come into being by a crazy night of elderberry wine and a strange rendezvous between a gentleman octopus and a charming selkie. Luckily this biography was included in with the artwork to dispel this rumor:

“There aren’t any castles in the suburbs of Delaware and there aren’t any haunted mansions with gloomy mansard roofs, either, and because that fact was nearly too tragic for me to bear as a child, Winona Cookie came to comfort me.

“Appearing in a shower of cookie crumbs one rainy thunderstruck afternoon, she has been my lifetime antidote to boredom. While I trudged through graduate schools and internships, Winona has followed her own path, leaving a trail of fanciful stories, watercolors, ink drawings, collages and jewelry in her wake. She favors the darkest faeries, legendary women, arcane subject matter and inventors that never were. She is currently obsessed with the steampunk genre and is running me ragged with collages and stories. They are frankly beginning to pile up! We live in San Diego where I practice psychotherapy and try to find a place for my ill-tempered cat to sit in my studio.”

All of these lovely creations are available for purchase at Ramona and Winona’s Etsy shop, located at winonacookie.etsy.com. Ramona and Winona are also members of EtsySteamTeam – search “steamteam” on the Etsy site for lots of imaginative and astonishing items. More of Winona’s work can be seen at winonacookieillustration.com.

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The Aristocrats of the Metropolis care for nothing more than years, making dynasties obsolete as they persevere into one decade after another, buoyed by ‘rejuvenation treatments’ that leave them dusty and raw. - Eliza Gauger

To see more of Eliza’s work, visit: http://www.elizagauger.com

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Bethalynne Bajema was brought to this world some years past, spring-time-ish, in a dark ceremony using stolen languages since unspoken by man. From an early age she was taught sewing, story-telling, and unconventional warfare… all this in preparation of her foretold future as Dread-Overlord-And-Tailor. What prophecy could not see was the impact her older brother’s comic collection would have on her, and the siren songs of India ink, the arts, and the written word. These talents have since been nurtured and have been showcased in a variety of magazines, books, and for more than ten years online.

Mixing equal parts Victorian horror, sepia erotica, clockwork logic and Industrial music, Beth carves her dreams on the skins of Tibetan holy men before transferring their contents to the computer’s screen.

Beth currently resides on America ’s East Coast with her better half, a rather bizarre little cat, a laptop, and her dark army. Online she can be found at Bajema’s Web or her online journal.

(Biography provided by John Galati)

Examples of Beth’s Work (Click on a thumbnail to see a larger view)

All images in this post are copyright © 2008 Bethalynne Bajema,
and used by this site with permission

Beth’s first collection of work is available through the lulu.com site.

Beth’s prints and various craft work can be found in Etta Diem’s Attic Shop

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Georgia Pakadakis, also known as the Midnight Bandit. is a nefarious plotter from whom we had all best keep well away. Under cover of darkness, she relies on her raccoon-DNA stealth to sneak her sigils into local art establishments, restaurants, and gift shops.

The next morning, the shopkeepers are sure they remember arranging for a display of works by a cheerful and talented young artist, and smile appreciatively at what appear to be brightly rendered fantastical creatures. The sigils work their magic as surely as they hide their true nature, and wild mushrooms sprout behind the cash register. Should one be tempted to take one of these sigils home as a decorative diversion, beware and be warned, for raccoon magic is afoot.

Soon you will believe that what you possess is the work of a lovely and personable artist with a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, prestigious awards, and impeccable social charms and graces. You will turn to your spouse or your mother and you will say, “see the lovely mermaid?” To which he or she may respond in bafflement “I see naught but chicken scratchings!” 

    

    

Though we are proud to share her works, Georgia’s paintings and prints are not presently available through the archives. If you are interested in any of these works, you can contact her through her website at GeorgiaPapakadis.com

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Myke Amend grew up in a sleepy little town called Cincinnati, Ohio, a place not far from Earth, nestled at the outer edge of the Milky Way galaxy.

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.

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