The What's Good Project

The What's Good Project

art + exploration by Jennifer Drinkwater

What's Good in 2020: A Shout Out to Courageous Creativity

What's Good in 2020: A Shout Out to Courageous Creativity

This is little embarrassing to admit, but anytime I read, watch, or hear something that really resonates with me, I get an immediate and short-lived lump in my throat. In and out. Like my body’s way of saying “Yo, you need to pay attention to this.” The weirdo throat response has happened so often and for so long and in such unexpected ways that I’ve really learned to trust it. All that to say, each of these projects, organizations, and episodes elicited the two-second throat lump in 2020.

ABCD, artist insight, civil rights, community, creativity, disaster recovery, For the Common Good, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterDecember 14, 2020blogComment

A Quick 48 Hours: Pine Lake State Park, Eldora, Iowa

A Quick 48 Hours: Pine Lake State Park, Eldora, Iowa

In 2019, I spent some good quality time learning about the ins and outs of Pine Lake State Park, thanks to Park Ranger Andy Place and my stint in the Iowa Art’s Council 20 Artists/20 Parks project. Here are a few more recommendations when planning a visit to Pine Lake. Special thanks to Andy for his input to this list!

A Quick 48, ABCD, community, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterNovember 30, 2020blog Comment

For the Common Good: A Community Artist Interview with Catherine Reinhart

For the Common Good: A Community Artist Interview with Catherine Reinhart

Today’s a very special day. Today is the day that my lovely friend and inspiring artist, Catherine Reinhart, is in the For the Common Good hot seat. Catherine and I have been friends and artist pals for years. We worked together at Iowa State University’s Design on Main Community Gallery while Catherine was the Artist-in-Residence and Gallery Director, and I taught a class for the gallery interns; she’s generously been a part of lots of weird community art projects I’ve instigated over the years (including this one), and best of all, she’s always up for talking shop about what artists can do with folks, and what art can do for folks.

artist insight, creativity, community, For the Common Good, tips, interviewJennifer DrinkwaterNovember 23, 2020blog Comments

How to Hang Art on Your Walls, Part III. The Final Chapter.

How to Hang Art on Your Walls, Part III. The Final Chapter.

Greetings! In this final installation (see what I did there) of how to hang art on your walls, we’ll be going over the nuts and bolts (ha) of the hanging part, i.e. what tools you need, measuring formulas, and best practices for showcasing your work in the best light possible (it’s just too easy).

art collection, creativity, tips, artist insightJennifer DrinkwaterNovember 17, 2020blogComment

How to Hang Art on Your Walls, Part 2

How to Hang Art on Your Walls, Part 2

Now that you’re purchasing art that you love, what do you do with it? How do you care for it? How do you create a meaningful visual experience in your home?

art collection, artist insight, creativity, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterNovember 9, 2020blog Comments

How to Hang Art on Your Walls, Part 1

How to Hang Art on Your Walls, Part 1

I get a lot of questions from friends and family on the reg about where and how to frame and hang their art, so I thought I would share some insight. And as always, use what works for you. Ignore what doesn’t. Artist friends, I’d love for you to weigh in here as well.

art collection, artist insight, creativity, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterOctober 26, 2020blogComment

A Primer on Why Art Now (for the people in the back)

A Primer on Why Art Now (for the people in the back)

Art is small-p political.

It always has been. Thank God for that. And by political, I mean Merriam Webster’s definition. Art is “the total complex of relations between people living in society.”

Artists and art-experiencers know this intuitively. This is for the people in the back.

I credit the following three perspectives with wise artists and thinkers that I very much admire. They put to words the feelings that I have had for decades, and way more eloquently than I ever could.

artist insight, creativity, communityJennifer DrinkwaterSeptember 29, 2020blog Comment

For the Common Good: Community Artist Interviews

For the Common Good: Community Artist Interviews

In that spirit, I’m beginning For the Common Good, a new series of community artist interviews. Each month, you’ll learn how and why these artists work in communities, how their creative practice informs their lives, and tips for communities to better collaborate with artists.

artist insight, community, creativity, tips, For the Common GoodJennifer DrinkwaterSeptember 14, 2020blogComment

Disaster Preparation Resources for Artists (to be filed under future toolkit ideas)

Disaster Preparation Resources for Artists (to be filed under future toolkit ideas)

Today is a brief checklist on how to prepare for a potential disaster situation. This is a very general overview aimed to touch on topics that young, emerging, and/or procrastinating artists may not have considered or gotten around to. Next week, we’ll dive into what to do when you find yourself in catastrophe.

artist insight, community, disaster recovery, tips, toolkitJennifer DrinkwaterAugust 24, 2020blog Comments

Easy and Effective Ways you can Support Artists during Disaster Recovery

Easy and Effective Ways you can Support Artists during Disaster Recovery

I wanted to write a quick post about ways you can support artists experiencing catastrophic situations. Since COVID began, there have been many, many emergency grant opportunities for artists and creatives. Natural disasters require different navigation, and natural disasters + pandemic is overwhelming.

artist insight, community, tips, disaster recoveryJennifer DrinkwaterAugust 17, 2020blog Comments

A Beginner's Guide to Starting a Meaningful Art Collection, Part 3

A Beginner's Guide to Starting a Meaningful Art Collection, Part 3

In prepping this final installment, I cast the net far and wide to all my artist friends, seeking their personal stories of all the ways we can better support artists. I opened a Pandora’s box of insight, hilarity, and cautionary tales, both from the perspective of collectors AND artists.

art collection, artist insight, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterAugust 3, 2020blog Comments

A Beginner's Guide to Starting a Meaningful Art Collection, Part 2

A Beginner's Guide to Starting a Meaningful Art Collection, Part 2

Art in your home or office should reflect your values, not necessarily your sofa fabric. Knowing who you are and what you’re about can be an easy way to begin, and define, your collection.

art collection, artist insight, community, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterJuly 28, 2020blog Comments

A Beginner's Guide to Starting a Meaningful Art Collection, Part 1

A Beginner's Guide to Starting a Meaningful Art Collection, Part 1

Above all, your art collection should reflect your values. Only you know what’s important to you - social justice, sustainability, your hometown, your faith, your family.

artist insight, creativity, tips, art collectionJennifer DrinkwaterJuly 20, 2020blogComment

What's Good in Mississippi: Art + Stories

What's Good in Mississippi: Art + Stories

According to David L. Cohn, the Mississippi Delta begins in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, TN and ends on Catfish Row in Vicksburg, MS. The geographically isolated “Delta”, as called by locals, is an alluvial plain used historically for cotton plantations in northwestern Mississippi along the Mississippi River.

artist insight, community, Mississippi, personal, creativityJennifer DrinkwaterJuly 13, 2020blogComment

Artist in Residence Programs: Filed under Future Community Art Toolkit Ideas

Artist in Residence Programs: Filed under Future Community Art Toolkit Ideas

As an artist, I love artist-in-residence (AIR) programs because they combine two favorite pastimes: making art and travel….As a community arts nerd, I believe AIRs can benefit communities even more than they artists they serve.

community, creativity, artist insight, tips, toolkit, AIRJennifer DrinkwaterJune 1, 2020blogComment

Earth Eyes

Earth Eyes

Guest post by is Naomi Friend, a professional artist in central Iowa. Naomi explores the prairies of the Midwest through art-making. She is inspired by the ecosystems, plants, and animals that make up the texture of our landscape. She seeks to investigate the role of humans as caretakers of creation.

community, creativity, artist insightJennifer DrinkwaterMarch 26, 2020blogComment

Up Your Community Art Game: Use a Plan of Work!

Up Your Community Art Game: Use a Plan of Work!

Below are some helpful categories to consider when planning a creative community engagement event, project, or program. Take what works, leave the rest. Add more.

community, creativity, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterJanuary 29, 2020blogComment

Hope Is a Verb

Hope Is a Verb

I’m late to the party in reading the Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown. (Pro tip: get thyself a copy of this and read immediately. I don’t care your backstory. It applies to you too.)

community, ABCD, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterDecember 3, 2019blogComment

Ode to the Theatre.

Ode to the Theatre.

In 2010, I started hanging around with some theatre-makers. Outside of performing in elementary school plays, seeing the occasional production as a grown person, and watching Waiting for Guffman, my theatre knowledge was scant, at best.

creativity, community, tips, theatreJennifer DrinkwaterNovember 20, 2019blogComment

Why Assets Matter More Than You Think

Why Assets Matter More Than You Think

I don’t often like to speak in generalities, but I would venture to guess that we all have that pull to some place, and that those emotional ties give us inklings about what we value.

ABCD, community, creativity, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterNovember 5, 2019blog Comment