Kool Aid…….

Amazing Compositions From Roach Papers!

This 37-year-old creates amazing mosaics using the humble medium of used roach papers from smoked joints.

Amazingly, this is just something Cliff does in his spare time. He’s one of Pittsburgh’s finest tattoo artists at his day job. But it’s his roach paper Chronic Art that has captured the imagination of folks nationwide.

As a student at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Cliff had the opportunity to take inspiration from the great mosaics of the past. “I was studying mosaics in school,” Maynard remembers. “I just remember sort of making this connection in my head between the tiles and roach papers.”

His roach paper portraits include iconic rock star stoners like Jimi Hendrix, Jerry Garcia, and John Lennon, and hemped hop rap stars like Snoop Dogg and Method Man.

Chronic Art

Jimi Hendrix: Burning of the midnight roach?

All these followed his very first roach paper portrait, which was of Jesus. “Maybe it’s a Catholic thing,” Maynard says. Another piece is Cliff’s roach paper take on the Michelangelo classic “Creation.”

“I’m always a little worried that I may run in to some trouble for my art,” Cliff told Mids Magazine. “That’s why I didn’t take my work public sooner. I think times are changing though. The marijuana movement has been winning battles left and right.”

Maynard’s Chronic Art offers original artworks and prints for sale, and also does some commissioned work.

Cliff’s currently offering hand-signed and numbered, limited edition, museum quality (Giclee) prints of all his mosaics. “I’m only making 420 of each design,” he told Toke of the Town. “The prints come professionally mounted and matted in black. All you need is a frame.”

Originals can take over 200 hours to finish, Maynard told us. “An 8×10 portrait is about $2,000 and the larger pieces start at around $3,000,” Cliff said.

Chronic Art

The artist himself: Roach paper king Cliff Maynard rocks.

The fantastic level of detail present in Cliff’s work is truly mind-boggling. When you start to grok how much time must have been spent fitting together all those sticky little bits of paper, cutting and arranging them in a way as to form a work of art, you have to admire this guy’s dedication. Hell, Cliff is a one-man refutation of pot’s supposed “amotivational syndrome.”

“The next project that’s about to be done is Jack Herer,” Cliff told Toke of the Town. “Then a Marc and Jodie Emery. I decided to do an ‘activists’ series of portraits. It’ll include Ed Rosenthal, Rev. Eddy Lepp, Richard Lee of Oaksterdam, and I’ll probably do a Rick Simpson at some point,” he told us.

Although until recently Cliff would probably have fit into the “unknown artist” category, he’s fast leaving the “unknown” part of that in the ash heap.

Maynard’s unique and phenomenal talent has turned the heads of numerous cannabis luminaries such as Cheech & Chong, Marc Emery (“a roach art Renaissance!”), Todd McCormick (“absolutely epic!”), Rev. Eddy Lepp (“I LOVE this shit!”), and Vivian McPeak, all of whom totally freaked on the level of passion, skill and detail in Cliff’s work.

Chronic Art

Cliff hard at work at his day job as tattoo artist.

“Cliff’s incredible roach paper renderings are beyond stunning, they are phenomenal,” said McPeak, executive director of Seattle Hempfest. “Cliff’s ability to make the papers come alive and fool the mind’s eye is a unique gift that everyone should get a chance to witness.”

Or as the inimitable Tommy Chong put it, “Creative way to dispose of roaches, man!”

Delivering A Package….Well Sort Of

Snake Hero

Ananova:

Snake saves family from fire

A Chinese man who nursed a dying snake back to health claims it saved his family by raising the alarm when their house was on fire.

Yu Feng, of Fushun, in Liaoning province, found the dying black snake outside his home, reports the Liaosheng Evening Post.

“I treated it with herbal medicines, and in 20 days it recovered,” he said.

He took the snake to a nearby mountain more than a mile away to release it back into the wild – but the next morning it was back at his house.

“I then set it free another two times, but it always came back,” Yu added. “People around me said the snake had come back to repay my kindness, so I kept it.”

He named the snake Long Long and adopted it as a pet – then one night, he claims it saved the whole family.

Yu explained: “I was asleep when suddenly I felt something cold on my face. I opened my eyes and it was Long Long.

“He had never woken me up before but I was so sleepy I went back to sleep. But Long Long grabbed my clothes with his teeth and whipped the bed with his tail.

“Then he went to my mother’s bed and whipped her bed with his tail. I woke up then and smelt something burning, and saw my mother’s electric blanket was on fire so I leapt up and turned it off.”

Local reptile experts say snakes don’t have the intelligence to act in this way – but Yu believes Long Long acted out of kindness, to repay Feng for saving his own life.

Interesting Things To Know Abour Auburn, ME

This very good FAQ is from the Auburn Libraries staff. I wanted to do my part in getting these interesting facts out there.

1. When was the city of Auburn settled?

Auburn was first settled as a shire town in 1786. The town became part of Minot, but later separated from Minot and was incorporated as the city of Auburn in 1842. Auburn annexed the town of Danville in 1867. Auburn’s charter was adopted and its government was organized in 1869. (Source: Maine Register, 2001 ed. Standish, Maine: Tower Publishing Co., 2000.)

2. What is the current population of Auburn? of Lewiston?

The 2002-2003 population of Auburn is 23,203, of Lewiston 35,690. (Source: Maine Register, 2004 ed.)

3. What is the longitude and latitude of Auburn, Maine?

Auburn, Maine is located at 44.05 N. latitude, 70.15 W. longitude. (Source: DK World Atlas, Millennium Edition. London: Dorling Kindersley Ltd., 1999.)

4. Who was Edward Little?

Edward Little was a descendant of one of the original settlers of what is now Auburn. He was born in 1773 in Newbury, Massachusetts and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1798. He became a successful lawyer and businessman in the city of Newburyport, but a disastrous fire in 1811 destroyed the assets he had built up. In 1815 he moved to Portland, and in 1826 he moved again to what is now Auburn. When his father, Josiah, died in 1830, he inherited land in this area.

Little was a quiet, scholarly person who was known for his devotion to the community. He donated land for the building of a Congregational Church, contributed generously to Bowdoin College, and in 1834 founded the Lewiston Falls Academy, which later became Edward Little High School. He died in 1849 at the age of 76. (Sources: Ralph B. Skinner et al, Auburn: 100 Years a City, 1869-1969. Lewiston, Maine: Auburn History Committee, 1968; also: vertical file materials from the Auburn Public Library.)

5. What’s so special about Mt. Apatite?

In the early 1900s, Mt. Apatite, which is located on the outskirts of Auburn, housed quarries that produced large amounts of commercial feldspar. Mining activities in these quarries also turned up rare minerals, colorful tourmaline crystals, and large crystals of smokey quartz.

Today, Mt. Apatite Park is owned and administered by the City of Auburn and is one of the best places in Maine for members of the general public to go mineral hunting. For directions to Mt. Apatite, plus an excellent summary of its history and geology, see the Maine Geological Survey’s Geologic Field Trips Page.

6. What were some of the worst disasters to effect the Lewiston-Auburn area?

The New Auburn Fire of 1933 – On May 15, 1933, a windswept fire sped through downtown New Auburn and destroyed 249 buildings in four hours. The fire moved so quickly that reporters from the Lewiston Journal, trying to report on the story, were forced to rush from telephones in buildings that had not caught fire when they entered. Over 2000 people from 422 families were left homeless, and the resulting damage was valued at over $2 million in 1933 dollars. (Source: Lewiston Journal Illustrated, Magazine Section, May 27, 1933.)

The Flood of 1936 – In March of 1936, heavy snowfall, record rains, and a sudden thaw combined to unleash record-breaking floods in many parts of the eastern United States. By the time the flooding was over, the nation’s death toll stood at 136, over 200,000 people were homeless, and total damage was estimated at $300 million in 1936 dollars. In Maine, five people were killed, approximately 200 bridges were washed out, and damage was estimated at $25 million. No one was killed or injured in Lewiston-Auburn, but New Auburn was completely marooned when South Bridge swept away and the Main Street Bridge was submerged. (Source: “The Flood of ’36,” Lewiston Daily Sun, February 3, 1986, p. 9.)

The Blizzard of 1952 – On February 17, 1952, a blizzard dumped 26 inches of snow on southern Maine while gale force winds whipped snow into towering drifts. Across the state, five people were killed and thousands of motorists were stranded as most of the state’s roads were completely blocked. In Lewiston, shoe shops and textile mills kept operating, but many of them closed early for two days in a row – a very unusual occurrence. The snowfall from the storm pushed Lewiston-Auburn’s snowfall total for the winter to nearly ten feet. The blizzard was the single heaviest snowfall in Lewiston since 30 inches reportedly fell during the blizzard of 1888. (Source: The Lewiston Daily Sun, February 19, 1952, p. 1.)

The Flood of 1987 – On April 1, 1987, four days of rain combined with melting snow to create the worst flooding of the Androscoggin River since 1936. The river crested at a height of 23.66 feet, ten feet above flood stage and high enough to send water surging just below street level at the Longley Bridge. Although the flood did heavy damage in low-lying areas, no injuries were reported. The worst flooding in the state was in Augusta along the Kennebec River, which crested at 36 feet. (Sources: Lewiston Daily Sun, Lewiston Evening Journal, April 1 & 2, 1987.)

The Ice Storm of 1998 – During the week of January 4th, 1998, one of the worst ice storms of the century coated parts of New York, New England, and eastern Canada with between three and six inches of ice. The storm was the worst natural disaster in Canadian history, resulting in 24 deaths, over $1 billion in damages, and the loss of power for over 3 million people. In Maine, the storm resulted in four deaths and over $100 million in damages. Nearly 3000 utility poles and 3 million feet of power lines were destroyed. Four out of five Mainers lost power for at least a few hours, and some went as long as twenty three days without power as utility crews from Maine and states as far away as North Carolina worked to repair the damage. (Source: “Ice Storm ’98: When Maine Froze Over,” special supplement to the Maine Sunday Telegram/Guy Gannett Newspapers, January 1998.)

7. When did George Bush Sr. live in Lewiston?

President George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara lived in Lewiston briefly while he was stationed at the Lewiston-Auburn Naval Air Station during World War II. During a return visit to Lewiston in 1991, President Bush recalled that he and Barbara were living here when he heard the news of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s death in 1945. (Source: Lewiston Sun-Journal, September 4, 1991, p.1.)

8. When did the Poland Spring House fire occur?

On the night of July 3rd, 1975, Poland Spring House was destroyed by a fire that could be seen as far away as Turner and South Paris. The five story complex, which dominated a scenic hilltop, had been closed for some time, but negotiations had been underway to sell it for $2 million. The building was nearly one hundred years old, and at the height of its popularity at the turn of the century was one of the nation’s most noted and luxurious resorts. It featured 300 rooms, dining and music rooms nearly 200 feet in length, and was the first resort hotel in the country to feature a golf course. By the 1930s, advances in transportation and the increasing popularity of vacations abroad had started the resort’s gradual decline. (Source: Lewiston Daily Sun, July 4, 1975, p.1.)

9. Who were some important inventors from Maine?

Freelon and Francis Stanley – Born in Kingfield in 1859, the Stanley twins invented the Stanley Steamer, a steam powered automobile, in 1897. It was the first mass-produced automobile in the United States. The Stanley Steamer was the first car able to reach speeds up to 120 mph, and the Stanley twins were notorious for speeding. In 1918, Francis was speeding along the Newburyport Turnpike on his way back to Boothbay Harbor when he swerved to avoid two farm wagons. He hit a pile of cordwood and was killed. The Stanley’s steam-powered car was eventually supplanted by the emergence of Henry Ford’s mass produced gasoline car, and the Stanley Steamer company went out of business in 1925.

Hiram Stevens Maxim – Born in Sangerville in 1840, Hiram Maxim invented the first practical machine gun, in which the gun’s recoil was used to automatically reload its chamber. Dejected by the rejection of his invention in the United States, Maxim moved to England, where in 1889 his gun was adopted for use by the British Army. Capable of firing ten rounds per second, the machine gun was a deadly weapon that was quickly adopted by other European countries and went on to revolutionize modern warfare. Hiram became a British citizen and in 1901 was knighted by Queen Victoria for his accomplishments.

Leon Leonwood Bean – Born in Greenwood in 1872, L.L. Bean developed the famous Maine hunting shoe, a rubber-bottomed boot sewn to a leather top which provided hunters with both comfort and protection from wetness. Bean began making the shoe for friends and selling them through the mail to holders of Maine hunting licenses. The Maine hunting shoe became the basis of a thriving mail order business, which eventually expanded to include outdoor clothing, camping gear, and hunting and fishing supplies. Today the L.L. Bean company employs over 4,000 people and has annual sales of over $1 billion*.

(Sources: Daphne Winslow Merrill, A Salute to Maine, Vantage Press, 1983; Bob Niss, Faces of Maine, Guy Gannet Books, 1981; Jim Brunelle, Maine Almanac, Guy Gannet Publishing, 1978; *L.L. Bean website.)

10. Where are the Maine Indian reservations located?

Maine has four Indian reservations:

• Houlton Maliseet Band Council, Houlton. Tribe served: Maliseet. Population served: 250.
• Indian Township Passamaquoddy Tribal Council, Princeton. Tribe served: Passamaquoddy. Population served: 385.
• Penobscot Tribal Council, Old Town. Tribe served: Penobscot. Population served: 1,050.
• Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy Tribal Council, Perry. Tribe served: Passamaquoddy. Population served: 700.

Please note: the population figures listed are from 1990 and are given as estimates only.

(Source: Barry T. Klein, Reference Encyclopedia of the American Indian, 5th ed. West Nyack, NY: Todd Publications, 1990.)