About the Artist

For two decades Jim has been creating and selling art made from objects found while hiking in woodlands and meadows, and along streets and sidewalks. Now retired, he worked for 30 years as a building maintenance supervisor. Jim holds a BA in history and an MA in museum studies. He writes and publishes short stories, and has won many writing awards. He is a long time volunteer at Harpers Ferry National Park. In 2006, he was the Volunteer of the Year for the National Capital Region of the National Park Service. In addition to selling his art at the Gateway Gallery, his work is featured at the Jefferson County Museum in Charles Town, WV and the Bookstore in Harpers Ferry National Park.

About Jim’s Art

Naturally curious, Jim finds things that appeal to his artistic sense and translates them into an elegant and often whimsical creation. They can be remnants of trees sculpted by nature or discarded bits of glass, pottery, china or iron that have been shaped by years of exposure to the elements. When walking along parking lots and streets Jim likes to collect bottle caps that have been run over and is particularly found of crushed caps that have pithy sayings on the inside.

After so many years of collecting nature’s bounty and manmade castoffs, his large shop is crammed full of potential creations just waiting for inspiration. But that doesn’t stop Jim from collecting more when something catches his eye. After all, as he frequently says, “They’re free!” Whether a new find or from inventory, Jim noodles and fiddles until the concept emerges as a finished piece. Following his guiding philosophy of doing less to show more, he allows a piece to speak with minimal help from the artist. The trick is having the eye to find just the right objects to begin with.

“Mystery Stick”