Creating artwork with a sense of place

By Lindsey Turnbull

Award winning, multi-disciplinary artist Janine Scriven recently held a unique ceramics class at the National Gallery, imparting her wide knowledge to a group of enthusiastic participants, with hope that another such class will be held in the not-too-distant future.

South Africa-born Janine said she engaged “deeply with place”, her work an organic expression of that connection. Her beautiful ceramics work is currently part of the latest National Gallery Biennial exhibition, and she has previously received notable recognition from Cayman’s art world, including winning the Reef Category in the CCMI Photographic Competition (2024). She has exhibited at Cayman Art Week in both 2024 and 2025, and participated in the Cayman Islands Biennial in 2023 and 2025 at the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands. Her photography was also featured in Beloved Isles: A Photographic Celebration of Our Sister Islands (2022), a group exhibition highlighting the natural beauty of the Sister Islands while supporting local tourism initiatives.

Janine grew up in a rural farming community in South Africa, where her creative instincts emerged early, while at boarding school.

“I often completed art projects for many of my classmates. Although art was not considered a viable profession within my family, my curiosity and creative drive remained constant,” she said.

In her mid-twenties she formally entered the arts for the first time by enrolling in a full-time photographic programme. This led to a career working as a photographer in London and undertaking documentary photography projects across various parts of Africa.

“These experiences, travelling widely, observing landscapes and communities, and engaging deeply with place continue to shape the themes and sensibilities present throughout my work,” she explained.

Now based in the Cayman Islands, she is an artist whose practice spans photography, ceramics, and painting. Alongside her work as a registered mental health counsellor, she maintains an evolving art practice grounded in personal reflection, memory, and the emotional resonance of landscape and environment.

Her work often explores the intersection of inner and outer worlds, how personal experience, travel, and environment shape human perception and connection, she said. Her ceramics reflected an intuitive, tactile engagement with materials, often informed by natural textures, organic forms, and the rhythms of the coastal landscape surrounding her in the Cayman Islands.

She was, she confirmed, deeply motivated by the creative community around her, meeting weekly with a small group of supportive friends.

“Our time together is as much about encouragement and laughter as it is about making art,” she advised. “In that space we give one another the freedom to experiment, explore ideas, and simply enjoy the process of creating. That sense of shared curiosity and support continually inspires me to keep evolving my practice.”

Janine said she created because it was fun and helped her make sense of life, its fragility, beauty, and complexity.

“Art has the ability to invite others into that same space of reflection and connection. As both an artist and a mental health counsellor, I am particularly interested in the inner landscapes people carry within them. Making art allows me to explore these emotional and psychological spaces in ways that words often cannot. The act of creating, whether through photography, ceramics, or painting becomes a way of slowing down, paying attention, and giving form to experiences that might otherwise remain unseen,” she explained.

Ceramics, in particular, offered a tactile and grounding process, she said. Working with clay connected her to the physical world in a very immediate way, and the transformation that occurs through firing reflected the idea that change and growth could emerge through pressure and time.

Janine had hoped that people attending the ceramics class would have fun.

“Working with clay can be incredibly freeing, and I wanted participants to enjoy the experience without feeling pressure to create something perfect,” she stated. “My aim was to create a relaxed and supportive space where people could experiment, play with the material, and discover the simple pleasure of making something with their hands. If people left feeling inspired, a little more confident to try something creative, and having enjoyed the process, then I felt the class had achieved its purpose.”

Participants created small hand-built vessels that could be used for things like trinkets or small flowers. The pieces were inspired by the natural world and the ocean, with lots of texture and organic, free-flowing shapes. She encouraged everyone to explore different forms and surfaces, allowing the clay to guide the process rather than aiming for something too structured or perfect.

Feedback was very positive, she confirmed.

“People really enjoyed the relaxed and playful atmosphere, and many said they appreciated having the freedom to experiment and simply have fun with the clay. For some it was their first experience working with ceramics, and they found the process both calming and rewarding. It was lovely to see how quickly people became absorbed in the making process and proud of the unique pieces they created,” she said.