“Art is something that makes you breathe with a different kind of happiness.” - Anni Albers. James is a brilliant self-made multimedia artist who has developed and displayed expertise in all mediums. He is also a cartoonist, an award-winning pumpkin carver, ice sculptor and snow sculptor. His painting, "Skaters at Science North" adorned the January page of the 2016 Picture Our Lakes calendar. James’ 3D artwork has produced ice sculptures and snow sculptures as well as pumpkin carving displays and sand sculptures in several parts of Canada and at the River and Sky Camping and Music Festival in Ontario, Canada.

How do you usually select a new project? What has been the most memorable project?J: It is constantly ongoing as I continuously search out and apply in ephemeral (sand, snow, and ice) sculpting venues, and go to complete the same when they accept my entries.
My most memorable so far has been in Yellowknife, NWT. It was my first time carving ice outside of Ontario, first time traveling north of 60 (Yellowknife is at 62N), and my first time visiting an Arctic community. Buying a down-fill parka was money well spent before taking on that project.

You have explored various media in your art. Which one is your favorite and why?J: Painting in oil is my favorite and one I am proud to say that I'm entirely self-made. I touched for the first time in high school Art class and as soon as I started daubing that canvas with a brush, it was as if I knew it from somewhere. For whatever reason I was good at it. My Art teacher even just let me do my own thing. My work always got displayed in the school's hallways.

What has been the most difficult 3-D project?J: Sand sculptures are the tricky ones. A slide or sudden collapse can happen when you least expect it. For obvious reasons the design of a sand sculpture must fit inside a pyramid. You have to work from the top down. You want to remove weight without weakening or compromising the sculpture in any way and at the same time leave some supporting structure. Then you hope and pray it stays put until the judges see and rate it.

How do you reflect your love of nature in your art? If you need to draw something which relaxes you what will be that scene/object and why?J: I especially like to paint shimmering waterways in a way that involves working more with the light than with the colours and capturing the almost hypnotic visual effect. Those paintings tend to turn out looking "a bit like Monet". My IPhone takes amazing night-time pictures and with the use of the same I want to explore painting urban nocturnes more extensively.

Who is your favorite multimedia artist?J: I don't have any favorite artist per se. I just love any well executed art that speaks the truth at the soul level and any that reflects on the absurdity of human behavior.

What kind of challenges did you face during school days? How did you overcome those challenges?J: Schools were H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E. I was always a social misfit from the get go. When I was about 12 I saw the movie Papillon. My favorite part was the ending where he was shouting those unflattering comments to his captors.Over the years that followed I read the memoirs of Holocaust survivors, the first of these being For Those I Loved by Martin Grey. From these I gleaned the psychological aspect of surviving the ordeal.I never saw them as places of learning. I've always been strictly a tactile learner. Nobody could chain me to a desk and ramble on in the name of "education", and my grades showed it.

What is your favorite place to visit? What do you like about that place?J: I don't have any favorite place to visit. I just welcome any chance to see a town or place I hadn't seen before. I would like to see more of the Canadian Maritimes and the sea shores of Quebec for painting some of the scenes.

What do you like to do when you are with your family/friends?J: At camp I would engage my daughter, my nieces, and my nephews in a variety of different things. A few examples are mini fishing tournaments, identifying wild mushrooms, a sand sculpture of a full-size Australian Salty crocodile, exploring in the woods and showing how to recognize poison ivy plants.

What tips/advice do you have for those in our community who are interested in trying out multimedia art?J: You want to go full time full tilt as a visual artist?
Financial remuneration sure does not look anything like what doctors and lawyers make. There are enormous personal sacrifices and commitments, and enormous personal effort in building your reputation here.
Perseverance, perseverance, and then more perseverance. Get your name out there any and every chance you get. Seek out and apply to events and projects that are in your scope. There will be a lot of declines of your entries, just remember it's nothing personal. Try again next year. Make yourself visible any chance you get by launching independent projects and painting "en plein air", or any blatantly visible artistic expression that might strike your imagination, and hand out your cards to curious onlookers who want to know more about your trade.
When you apply to those artsy gigs and someone does say yes and offer to fly you to their venue, house and feed you, and pay an honorarium over and above, that is the icing on the cake. Embrace the experience, adrenaline and butterflies in your stomach and all. This is how you will get to see new places and build yourself a network and entourage of creative and fascinating people. Keep persevering at what you do and these experiences will show up more and more.
If you are up to living an unconventional and sometimes adventurous lifestyle as opposed to chasing the American Dream, this could be your dream job. Great riches are neither common nor likely but anything is possible. Have faith in yourself. The spiritual rewards are limitless.

Any special message for our community?J: Honor your strengths and your being different, fellow Aspies. You are all here for a reason.
In "Read All About It Pt III" Emili Sandé could very well be addressing you, seemingly personally and namely with the opening exerpt, "You have the words to change a nation". Give that song a listen if you will. There is something to be said about those lyrics.
Things have changed and the public attitude on the condition has evolved to something I myself would have never dreamed of or recognized some decades back. I believe things can only improve from here on even if there is still a long way to go.
Anyone of us may "have the words to change a nation", collectively we have the words to change the world. One day they will hear our song.