A community art project doesn’t always turn out as the artist originally intended and James learned that last summer while working on a painting with local youth at Prairie Fest in Long Prairie. 

During Summer 2017, James worked with youth to assist in the creation of a one-of-a-kind painting to be displayed at the Sprout Growers and Makers Marketplace.  Balloons were filled with paint and attached to a piece of sheetrock.  Youth of all ages were invited to “pop” the balloons with darts, thus dripping the paint down the surface, creating the background for his painting.

About halfway through the event, a storm came in fast, along with a HUGE gust of wind.  The wind caught the art in progress and sent it crashing to the street, breaking the sheetrock piece in two.

James did not despair.  The minor setback simply gave James at new path to take.  He was still able to use the sheetrock piece the youth had helped him create and turned it into a wonderful representation of Francisco “Pancho” Villa, a Mexican Revolutionary general and one of the most prominent figures of the Mexican Revolution.