**Deborah Zemke**
Long-time Columbia resident and children’s illustrator Deborah Zemke is passionate about the area’s natural spaces.
Living in Columbia allows her to be within walking distance of downtown as well as Hinkson Creek, where she walks her dogs. Naturally, cleaning up Columbia’s creeks is a cause close to the artist’s heart.
“Water is vital to all life, even to urban life,” Zemke says. “(The Storm Drain Project) seemed like a really fun thing to do and an opportunity to take part in the community.”
The intersection of Fifth and Cherry streets caught Zemke’s eye when it came to selecting a canvas for her first work on concrete. After encountering a black cat hiding in this particular storm drain, she knew the site had character.
“I wanted to play off the features of the individual place,” she says, also citing the medallions on the sidewalk that addressed the issue of pollution.
For her piece, Zemke drew from her experience illustrating nature and animals and humor for the “Critter Crackup” feature in Ranger Rick magazine.
Some parts of the composition were drawn directly from Zemke’s time in the nature of Columbia. The blue herons on the sidewalk, for example, come from a personal encounter while she was on a walk with her dog.
When asked what exactly she was painting, Zemke says, “You have to go see!”
**Rodger Francis**
“Hey, how often do I get to do graffiti on the streets of Columbia and have it completely legal?”
Rodger Francis is right on the money.
The eccentric Columbia College student and freelance artist strayed from his preferred medium of paper and ink to bring color on the corner of Fifth and Cherry streets with a little “en plein air” (fancy art talk for “outside”) piece as part of the Storm Drain Art project.
“Painting on it was a little different than normal,” Francis says.
But that didn’t prevent him from getting his thought-provoking message across.
Francis sees it this way — visitors perceive Columbia as a pretty, progressive, art-friendly town … which it is. But when travelers roll through for, say, football games, they don’t think about what they’re dumping.
Francis said he hopes viewers won’t get his artwork right away. Complete with a vivid palette and bit of puzzling imagery, Francis’ piece has curb appeal that grabs attention and challenges Columbia pedestrians to think outside the box.
“Just because everything looks nice and pretty on the surface – remember what you’re dropping down underneath,” Francis says.
The simple slogan on Francis’ piece, “think b4 u dump,” extends farther than a street corner.
“It means doing the little bit that every one person can do just to make sure that not only future generations but our generation is able to have a glass of water without dying,” Francis says.
**Ben Chlapek**
Home is where the art is. At least for Ben Chlapek it is.
“I tend to paint these scenes of strange houses,” Chlapek says of his work, “Sort of environments that I’d like to live in.”
Chlapek came to MU in 2003, choosing a program that he wouldn’t get bored with —- namely, graphic design. After numerous solo exhibitions in Columbia, the freelance graphic design artist is excited for the opportunity to partake in a public group exhibition.
Chlapek plans to drive his message home to the corner of Ninth and Elm streets.
“I thought about what I wanted to depict for a long time,” Chlapek confesses.
He finally settled on what he does best: portraying potential homes.
“A bunch of houses connected in the middle of a body of water has a feeling of togetherness, yet separate from everything else at the same time,” Chlapek says.
He visually builds his concept with a colorful portrayal of homes connected by strings of lights residing over water.
Sounds simple, right? Chlapek hopes for the opposite. Visually and literally, the water supports the houses.
“Together, we’re a community, and we need to take care of our water,” Chlapek says. “This water that runs underneath us is essential to our survival, and we should treat it as such.”
_Check out more of the storm drain projects [here](http://move.themaneater.com/stories/2012/9/3/trash-treasure/) and [here](http://move.themaneater.com/stories/2012/9/3/storm-drain-art-profiles-dennis-murphy-jane-mudd-a/)_.