James Borden was born and raised in Rockford, Illinois. He graduated from Dana College in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a major in Humanities. He graduated from Wartburg Theological Seminary in 1987 with a Master of Divinity Degree. James has recently moved to Red Wing, Minnesota, where he will continue to create all-wood kinetic sculptures called Timeshapes.
 

Timeshapes are essentially mechanical weight-driven or spring-driven clocks, every part of which has been designed and built by James Borden. The pendulums and escapements are also of the artist's own design. Timeshapes exhibit a wide, graceful motion and soft, woody, clicking sounds which are mesmerizing and relaxing to watch and hear.
 

In his Timeshapes, James Borden presents a different vision of the passage of time: Less frenetic and urgent than the normal ticking of a clock; slower paced; peaceful; playful; something easier to live with.