My name is Jim Muldoon and I live in Calgary, Alberta Canada. I have been creating stained glass items since I graduated from high school way back in 1972. In the summer of 1972 I had nothing to do so my mother signed me up for my first stained glass course in Windsor, Ontario. There were only six of us in the class but it was an interesting group of both genders from all age groups. I had noticed how accurately one gentleman made his glass cuts. I later found out he was a doctor and we shared our new found techniques during the remainder of the course. I had made a couple of sun catchers for my mother’s kitchen. Pretty basic designs but they sure made that kitchen brighter and more enjoyable.
Over the next couple of years I created some flat panel work and improved my technique. I wanted to learn how to do 3-D stained glass work so I enrolled in a lamp making class. It was great because you had to design your own lamp on a blank mold. After making my own lamp, I got interested in the classical Tiffany style lamps. I had bought several Tiffany style molds over the years and continued to make these lamps. My mother still has the first two lamps I made, the one I designed and the one I made from a Tiffany mold. Both of these lamps are close to forty years old:
That’s the really great thing about these lamps, they are heirlooms. They can be passed down from one family member to another over many decades.
In order to pay the bills, I taught Junior High School science for thirty years. I have been creating stained glass items during this same period. I have a passion for making lamps because I have seen how they brighten up an area with their wonderful hues of colour, mood altering presence, and changing colour patterns throughout the day. On dull gloomy days, I really appreciate looking at a brightly coloured lamp with it’s dazzling radiating colours.
Living close to Detroit, Michigan in the early 1980’s allowed me to discover a Delphi Stained Glass store. This store really opened up my world to new products, designs, tools and glass. Over the years I had picked up several Tiffany style molds and still use them today. I create all my stained glass work from my in-house workshop. I have a great setup for my stained glass projects with all my tools and equipment close at hand. Many decades of unused coloured glass are well organized in my work area. I am also fortunate to live close to a well stocked stained glass store which allows me to pick just the right colours.
Thank you for coming to my website. Here’s hoping you will enjoy the beauty, style and mood altering presence of a well crafted radiating stained glass lamp!
Jim