Born into a family of colossal storytellers who spun great adventure tales, James had an artist’s eye for the beauty of the cosmos. A prolific artist, his drawings and paintings were exhibited in Maine, Texas, and California, and he worked for Will Vinton Studios building models and doing clay animation.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in art from Gonzaga University, he got a master’s from ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó and made a career of teaching English literature and theater. He lectured at Rice University, the University of Maine, and the University of Houston, and taught for years at LaSalle High School in Milwaukie, Oregon, and at Holy Family Catholic School in Portland. James acted professionally in Houston, New York, and Edinburgh; directed Shakespeare; designed and built sets; and directed sound and lighting. He taught drama in Florence, Italy, and Lugano, Switzerland, and helped mainstream profoundly deaf students into regular classrooms at Tucker Maxon School in Portland.
An unimpeachable genius of a man, James was socially concerned and aware, embraced life, and lived in a golden place replete with deities of his choosing. He looked for the perfect vision of light, whether in a sketch or in the refracted light of friends.