James Nordmeyer died in 1985, and for all those years since the end of his interesting life, his beautiful batik artwork lay in the care of his close friend and heir, unavailable to the rest of us. It isn’t easy for her to part with it. “But it’s time,” she says.

Jim graduated cum laude with a degree in Art from the University of Cincinnati, and he went on to teach there. A friend introduced him to the ancient Egyptian technique of batik using hot wax and dyes. The images he produced are deceptively simple, belying the enormously difficult process.

But, in his own words, he had trouble with the fame he had made for himself throughout Ohio. “I couldn’t relax with my artwork any more. I was famous and it got to be nerve-wracking. I don’t want to be famous any more.” he said. He was being pushed to produce bigger and better things. ”The images in my work became hostile and derogatory, and I got really depressed.”

The move to Clearwater in 1978 might have contributed a more relaxed atmosphere for Jim but only a brief anonymity; pure talent does not go unrecognized. It wasn’t long before Jim had a list of awards naming his work “1st Place” and “Best in Show” throughout Florida. His artwork began to take a prominent place in private collections such as Walt Disney World, the Ringling Museum, and Raymond James Financial. And two years in a row, 1983 and 1984, he became one of only two Florida artists who exhibited in the “Crafts as Art” Show at the Smithsonian in Washington DC.

“While it’s technically easy to dip cloth into dyes, to control the medium to achieve unified compositions and representational forms is quite difficult. The batiks by Jim Nordmeyer are some of the most proficient I’ve seen and should set the standard for the success of a batik. Nordmeyer’s approach to art is one of careful planning and masterful execution. There’s no room for spontaneity in a successful batik. While Jim Nordmeyer’s process might classify him as a craftsman, his thought processes and concepts place him in the mainstream of 1970's art.”
Ellen Brown, The Cincinnati Post, April 23, 1977

“Batik compositions – deceptively simple pieces of people and places with strong forceful lines and subtle, sensitive hues…”
Christina Cosdon, Pinellas Times, July 21, 1978.

“James Nordmeyer’s art awards have ranged widely across the categories of painting, watercolor, printmaking and crafts. And every work has been a batik. ‘Batik.’ The art of dyeing designs on cloth. But these by Nordmeyer are something else. Random lines may be useful for those who need to mask their mistakes, but this artist doesn’t work that way.
Jeanette Crane, St Petersburg Independent, February 22, 1979: