PHOTO GALLERY: Stormwater drain murals across Columbia

By Kholood Eid and Greg Kendall-Ball/Missourian

August 15, 2012 | 6:00 a.m. CDT

Mike Sleadd and eight other Missouri artists, as part of a public art project sponsored by the Roots 'N' Blues 'N' BBQ art festival, decorated nine sewer covers downtown in an effort to raise awareness about litter that winds up in the city's creeks and streams.

Mike Sleadd, chairman of the art department at Columbia College, works Tuesday on the mural he designed for a stormwater sewer cover at South Seventh and Elm streets as part of a public art project sponsored by the Roots 'N' Blues 'N' BBQ art festival. | Kholood Eid/Missourian

Mike Sleadd sketches the outline of a painting on a sidewalk near a stormwater drain at South Seventh and Elm streets Sunday in downtown Columbia.
| Greg Kendall-Ball

A stormwater drain mural painted by Missouri artist Jane Mudd at South Sixth and Elm streets.
| Greg Kendall-Ball

A stormwater drain mural painted by Missouri artist Maura Mudd at South Fourth and Locust streets. | Kholood Eid/Missourian

A stormwater drain mural painted by Missouri artist Dennis Murphy on Cherry Street between South Fourth and South Fifth streets. | Kholood Eid/Missourian

Jenny McGee, a local painter, works on her stormwater drain mural on the corner of Fourth and Cherry Streets. | Kholood Eid/Missourian