MIDDLEBURG – Mark James’ world is filled with the bright colors of dragonflies, palm trees, alligators and elephants. He just can’t see them.

His imagination isn’t limited by retinitis pigmentosa that stole his sight. If he can touch it, he can see it.

The artist learned to twist wiring scraps into artwork, which brought him emotional clarity.

“You know, for some reason, I don’t know what it is, but when I’m sitting here bending wire, I feel like I can actually see it,” James said. “Sometimes I have to look away because I get so focused. I feel like I can see it in my hands when I’m twisting it. I just sit there and keep bending until it lands in the right spot.”

Retinitis pigmentosa is a genetic disease that breaks down the light-sensitive layer of tissue in the back of the eye. The disease is incurable, affecting a person’s ability to see in the light.

“I can’t see colors,” James said. “I can barely make out shapes.”

James offers some of his pieces to fundraisers and friends. A few have been sold, but his inability to drive makes it difficult for him to sell his work.

“I’ve given away a few. I’ve sold a few and donated a few,” he said. “People tell me all the time I need to take it to an art show, or I need to put it online, but I can’t do none of that stuff.”

He made his first piece in 1998. Now, there are more than 100 at his house.

“Mainly, I just collect them,” he said.

Twenty-five years ago, James was an air conditioning technician who hated throwing away leftover wiring pieces. He stripped away the plastic coating to eight to 58 single strands of wires.

James found a way to incorporate colorful wires into his pieces. Each color has a specific spot in his studio. He knows it’s the fourth spool from the left when he needs an orange wire. He relies on friends to restock and organize them. His landlord built a separate shelf with letter tiles to identify other colors.

“I just know it’s red, blue, blue, orange, purple, green, green, gold, silver, copper,” he said.

From there, James relies on his fingers and imagination to do the rest.

“Sometimes, I’ll pick something up and figure it out,” he said.

He is currently working on a large bird sculpture. He said it started as a chicken, but now he thinks it will be a duck or goose.

“I go where my fingers take me,” he said. “And I have a lot of time, a lot of time, to work on these. I’m in no hurry to do anything else.”