James was the first of seven children born in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He moved to Rochester, New York, to attend graduate school at Rochester Institute of Technology. Concentrating in painting and printmaking. Within months after receiving his Master of Fine Art degree in 1973, he grew increasingly fascinated by quiltmaking. He had experimented with quiltmaking as an undergraduate.In addition to the quiltmaking tradition, James was attracted to the geometric and abstract patterns of quilt design.He found that he preferred to work with fabric rather than paint.