Graduated University of Hawaii at Minoa 1995 BFA (Fine Arts)
James has extensive training with mills, lathes and other machining equipment, and is also self-taught for a number of unusual skills with shaping aluminum and exotic materials. James likes nothing better than to be presented with a three dimensional puzzle that needs a solution. He has always enjoyed dismantling and re-assembling complex equipment.
James enjoys instructing other technophiles on the amazing equipment available at the TechShop in Menlo Park, California. His assistance is highly valued and he is considered the go-to guy for creating graceful and intuitive designs and solutions to unusual challenges.
Recruitment
James had a fascination with the Team Phoenicia project for a long time prior to being recruited to the team proper. He often would give advice - that go-to guy personality again at TechShop - on the machining that was taking place. He was fascinated with the whole audacity of the GLXP and that some individuals can tackle at TechShop. One day he was working on a project for a film, producing an alien bullet of all things - when I walked up impressed with him milling a hemisphere for the top portion of the "bullet" prop. My comment was, "Can you make it bigger?" He was sure he could. Then I countered, "Can you make it hollow?" That was a challenge he took up and produced our high pressure spheres.
From then on, he was hooked and became a full blown Phoenician.
