My Inspiration comes from a fascination or forms, textures and colors.
The most subtle details of natural and man-made objects, and objects imagined are studied. The engineer joins glass, heat and gravity to capture thoughts and memories. The works invite one to gaze inside and view the flows of the once molten glass; to get lost in the dance of light and color.
Jim works exclusively in glass; Kilnforming and casting at his Macoupin Prairie Glassworks studio in Staunton, Illinois near his childhood home of Mt. Olive. In September 2018, After 27 years, he moved from his forest home and studio - Chehalem Mountain Glassworks in Schools, Oregon.
After a long career as an engineer and technologist he was taken hostage by glass kilnforming in 2012. He has dedicated himself to his craft and art. Extensive study of and experimentation with the medium is a passion and healthy addiction.
He creates pieces with depth and weight. Glass sheets, crushed glass (frit) and glass slabs (billets) are contained within dams and hand built plaster silica molds then fired to over 1500 degrees Fahrenheit. Fired works are then extensively coldworked for hours to achive the final finish.