With his faithful yellow lab at his side, Jim started spending endless hours in his studio building stone birdhouses. Soon his muse suggested that Jim build a castle.

But Jim realized it could take forty more winters to complete such a grand project. But his fascination with the architecture of castles soon led Jim's eyes to be drawn to the structures of his native land. Soon he took up the challenge of replicating lighthouses.

Longtime friend and Rhode Island native Armand LaMontagne, world-renowned sculptor and artist, has been a great inspiration and mentor for Jim. Having a friend like Armand, who has scaled the hurdles in the field of sculpture, provides many valuable lessons. Jim's collection of friends, including Jeremy D'Entremont, lighthouse historian and writer, along with his own studies and experiences, have contributed much to this lifelong journey.

Each of Jim's lighthouses is hand-made from individually cut, chiseled, tumbled, and polished stones, bricks, and blocks. In some cases it is impossible to build the replica out of the original lighthouse material, due to the fragility of the stone. In these cases, a more stable material is used and a patina is employed to age the material.

Aside from his one-of-a-kind "lighthouse masterpieces," Jim also carves bas reliefs in wood of various subjects. Each relief remains is then cast in bronze or pewter for smaller and more affordable reproductions. These reliefs have been cast into wall plaques, paperweights, key chains, pens, and more.