The What's Good Project

art + exploration by Jennifer Drinkwater

Posts in creativity

Work with What You Got

Work with What You Got

When I first started working for Iowa State Extension and Outreach, I learned to focus on the assets a town has and not on their deficits. I’ve found this to be so helpful and so effective. I grew up in Mississippi and I’ve lived in Iowa for the last 15 years. In both states, I spend a lot of time driving around and listening the stories. It’s the best part of my job. In each new community I visit, I inevitably meet hear about someone doing some really creative thing to make their community better. These folks are scrappy – pulling together local resources and assets and talents together that’s grassroots, creative, and locally impactful.

ABCD, artist insight, creativity, community, TipsJennifer DrinkwaterJune 16, 2022blogComment

Gathering Spaces: The How Matters

Gathering Spaces: The How Matters

Last month, I was invited to participate in the Placemaking in Small & Rural Communities Virtual Conference hosted by the amazing Arts Extension team at the University of Kentucky. (They are the OG of community arts extension and rural placemaking.)

I thought I’d share a few key points from that presentation over the next few weeks, including 4 common themes that I’ve noticed in effective and inclusive rural placemaking efforts.

ABCD, artist insight, community, creativity, tips, toolkitJennifer DrinkwaterJune 7, 2022blogComment

Six (free) Ways to Support (living) Artists

Six (free) Ways to Support (living) Artists

A topic that arises fairly frequently in my work is:

How can I support artists if:

I can’t afford to buy their work,
I’ve already bought their work/seen their performance
I don’t have room for their work in my home,
I can only buy so many books, see so many performances, etc, etc, etc.

Well, friend, this list is for you.

artist insight, creativity, community, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterApril 5, 2022blog Comment

Artists Who Teach: The Why and the How

Artists Who Teach: The Why and the How

Most of you know that I teach. A majority of my artist friends teach. We for many reasons, in many ways and in many roles. We teach K-12 with a rolling cart, we teach in colleges and universities, we teach in community spaces, we teach in our studios, we teach online. Today I’d like to focus on how two fabulous artists who teach: painter Annie Guldberg and fiber artist Jean Haley.

artist insight, community, creativity, interview, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterMarch 29, 2022blog Comment

What's Good Mississippi

What's Good Mississippi

I can think of no one who’s a better and more generous community-builder than Derek Covington Smith, my friend and fellow artist from Brookhaven, Mississippi.

Case in point…

artist insight, AIR, community, creativity, Mississippi, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterMarch 22, 2022blogComment

Community Downsizing: How Small Towns Can Grow an Artist's Career

Community Downsizing: How Small Towns Can Grow an Artist's Career

Last summer, I had the good fortune of connecting with Annie Guldberg, an expressionist oil painter living in Mount Pleasant, Iowa (pop. 9724). She humored me by showing her incredible home studio and answering tons of questions over a lunch of Cuban sandwiches at The Grange Public House in downtown Mount Pleasant.

artist insight, community, creativity, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterFebruary 15, 2022blogComment

Why the Bright Colors?

Why the Bright Colors?

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve been asked that in the last 12 months, I could probably take a pretty nice weekend somewhere. It’s one of those questions that I never have a decent and coherent answer to, and in the spirit of self-betterment, I thought it was time to hold myself accountable.

All of the following are true. Some are true more days than others.

art collection, artist insight, creativity, personalJennifer DrinkwaterFebruary 7, 2022blog Comments

Marks Mule Train & Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Poor People’s Campaign (Marking the Mule Train Cultural Trail)

Marks Mule Train & Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Poor People’s Campaign (Marking the Mule Train Cultural Trail)

“Without the foundation of the wheel, it would be difficult to produce movement. It was the wheels of those wagons that propelled the Poor People’s Campaign forward, and those wagon wheels will now be parted permanently along the Mule Train Interpretative Trail”, Katrina Rankin, Emmy Nominee, “The Mule Train: Poor People’s Campaign Continued” Documentary.”

civil rights, community, creativity, MississippiJennifer DrinkwaterJanuary 17, 2022blogComment

Creative Civic Resolutions: 13 Ways to Better Support Local Artists in 2022

Creative Civic Resolutions: 13 Ways to Better Support Local Artists in 2022

Hey, can we start Community New Years Resolutions? Is that a thing? Can we make it a thing?

And more specifically, can those community resolutions be geared on your local art community? Sound good? You with me, here? Great. :)

Behold. 13 Tips to Better Support Your Local Artists.

(I’ve made it easy for you. One for each month, plus a bonus.) And May I suggest you bringing a couple to your next civic meeting to brainstorm? Y’all can do a lot with a little focus.

artist insight, community, creativity, Tips, For the Common Good, interviewJennifer DrinkwaterJanuary 3, 2022blog Comment

For the Common Good: A Community Artist Interview with Anna Jinja Kees

For the Common Good: A Community Artist Interview with Anna Jinja Kees

I’m so thrilled to end the year with an interview of Anna Jinja Kees, my friend and all around amazing human being. Anna and I connected this year through our mutual friend, Akwi Nji, and became instant friends. Also Ames-based, Anna’s energy is uplifting, inspiring, and infectious. She’s one of those folks who infuses every conversation, gathering, and organization with connection, creativity, and empowerment. Ames sure is lucky, that’s all I’m saying.

artist insight, community, creativity, For the Common Good, tips, interviewJennifer DrinkwaterDecember 21, 2021blogComment

For the Common Good: A Community Artist Interview with Kaleb Stevens

For the Common Good: A Community Artist Interview with Kaleb Stevens

I first saw Ames-based artist Kaleb Stevens (known artistically as KUB) perform back in early 2020 at the Black Arts and Music Festival at the Ames Public Library and immediately began following his work. In addition to being a full-time student, and an active community-driven artist, Kaleb also serves as the Planning and Engagement Coordinator for UnEvictIA, a placemaker for Des Moines-based Group Creatives Services, and was most recently an intern for the Center for Artistic Activism, an international organization providing training and support for artist activists. Needless to say, I was really excited when Kaleb agreed to be interviewed as part of For the Common Good.

artist insight, creativity, community, For the Common Good, tips, interviewJennifer DrinkwaterDecember 1, 2021blogComment

Intertwining a Community

Intertwining a Community

I don’t know how to knit. That is significant for two reasons. First, as a community art specialists and an academic, I’m supposed to know how to do things. Second, and more surprisingly, in 2016, I organized Intertwine, a project involving 125 makers from across the country to yarn bomb ISU Design on Main, a storefront in downtown Ames that was a former satellite studio facility for Iowa State University’s College of Design and included a community gallery space.

artist insight, community, creativity, tips, personal, toolkitJennifer DrinkwaterNovember 15, 2021blog Comment

When Hippies Conspire: Artist + Conservationist Collaborations

When Hippies Conspire: Artist + Conservationist Collaborations

A few weeks back, I had the opportunity to publicly talk shop about intersections of art and conservation in Iowa with two ISU Extension and Outreach colleagues: Catherine DeLong, program manager, Water Quality, and Adam Janke, assistant professor and extension wildlife specialist. As a once avid hiker, I’m embarrassed to say that I’d never really considered the parallels between natural resource conservation and art until meeting Adam and Catherine.

ABCD, community, creativity, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterNovember 9, 2021blog Comments

For the Common Good: A Community Artist Interview with Jill Wells

For the Common Good: A Community Artist Interview with Jill Wells

If you live in Iowa, you likely don’t need an introduction to Des Moines artist Jill Wells. Her creative impact can be found in communities across the state, from her murals in Iowa City to her Artist X Advocacy mentorship program in Des Moines.

artist insight, community, creativity, For the Common Good, tips, interviewJennifer DrinkwaterOctober 26, 2021blogComment

A Primer on Artist Relocation Programs

A Primer on Artist Relocation Programs

Say what?

Artist who?

In a sentence, Artist Relocation Programs attempt to lure artists to live and work in their communities, knowing full well that artists can transform places.

ABCD, community, creativity, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterOctober 4, 2021blogComment

For the Common Good: A Community Arts Leader Interview with Jennifer Brockpahler

For the Common Good: A Community Arts Leader Interview with Jennifer Brockpahler

Jennifer Brockpahler is one of the hardest working people I know. Hands down.

This woman gives of herself tirelessly to our community as the director of the Ames Community Arts Council, which is her second full-time job. (It’s no secret that many nonprofit art positions can only offer funding on a part-time basis and usually without benefits, requiring folks to make sacrifices and work A LOT.)

As the Ames Community Arts Council (ACAC) director, Jen oversees a multitude of community arts projects, mentors interns, and builds creative partnerships across Story County.

artist insight, community, creativity, For the Common Good, tips, interviewJennifer DrinkwaterSeptember 12, 2021blogComment

6 Quick Questions to Ask Before Starting a Creative Community Project

6 Quick Questions to Ask Before Starting a Creative Community Project

On any given day, I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing. Still. Seven years in. I’ve learned by doing, screwing up, changing, redoing. From watching other folks way wiser and more experienced than I am.

ABCD, artist insight, community, creativity, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterAugust 23, 2021blogComment

For the Common Good: A Community Artist Interview with Rami Mannan

For the Common Good: A Community Artist Interview with Rami Mannan

Let’s first establish that the College of Design (CoD) at Iowa State University is a pretty big place, all things considered. Seven departments, multiple degree program, 1600+ undergraduate students, 150+ graduate students, loads of faculty and staff.

Among and amidst all these other folks, I kept crossing paths with artist and architecture student, Rami Mannan. I remember being slack-jawed first seeing Rami’s drawings in both the CoD and at ISU Design on Main. Who made these?

artist insight, community, creativity, For the Common Good, tips, interviewJennifer DrinkwaterAugust 18, 2021blogComment

Belonging is Crucial.

Belonging is Crucial.

A few weeks ago, I wrote 7 Signs of a Vibrant Community, which is a brief introduction to the concept of the Community Capitals Framework. As a recap, the CCF provide us with seven distinct areas to evaluate to see how healthy our places (and consequently our people) are. While all seven are necessary for having a high quality of life, I’ll defend social capital to my grave as really being the glue that binds everything else together.

ABCD, artist insight, community, creativity, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterJuly 28, 2021blogComment

Pop Up! Lessons from a Rookie, Part II

Pop Up! Lessons from a Rookie, Part II

“If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning.” - Catherine Aird

Last week, I warned that I’d be sharing a laundry list of what I learned by participating in Iowa Pop Art, my very first pop-up-art-festival-type experience.

Without further ado….

14 Bits of Advice for Your First Pop Up:

artist insight, creativity, community, tips, personal, toolkitJennifer DrinkwaterJune 28, 2021blogComment