Jim first studied commercial art at Vesper George School of Art in Boston and graduated in 1964.He spent some years bouncing around in the commercial art world and painting in his spare time. In the seventies and eighties he worked and did independent study at the school of the museum of fine arts in Boston . His focus was mainly on painting and he had some success with galleries and museums, but eventually he became frustrated with the limitations of two dimensions and began experimenting with wood. He held a lifelong appreciation of wood inherited from his father, a carpenter. As a sculptor and furniture maker, Jim is self taught. The various properties of different woods, the proper use of tools, and the mysteries of joinery were learned while he supported himself as a carpenter. Currently he teaches woodworking and creates objects of art in Chicago .