A Look at the Work of John Perry, Sealife Sculptor

Chances are, you’ve seen a John Perry sculpture some time in your life. They are hard to miss with their clever use of polished wood, white sea life figural adornments, and John Perry signature finial. But few who have seen the work of John Perry really know what it is they are seeing other than the usual bone white animals created in the 1970’s hovering over the driftwood. John Perry is more than a mod artist, and the latest news from the John Perry Studio is one in living color.

In 1972, sculptor John Perry was like most artists. His brain was full of ideas, but the dream needed a push to make it real. Perry was born in England during the onset of World War II. He moved throughout the country during his childhood and studied Geology in Nottingham University. After obtaining his degree, John Perry had a change in career goals and found himself pursuing business administration certification.

According to Perry, it was his emigration to the United States which led to his career as a sculptor, as he used the skill to survive in 1967’s ever-changing America, using sculpture skills honed during periods of childhood bed rest due to a bone disease. The first John Perry sculptures were made of fiberglass and not typically of a sea life theme. But Perry hit both pay dirt and notoriety when he began creating gull sculptures for California’s costal galleries.

At about the same time that John Perry was sculpting his first sea birds for gallery sales, a writer, Richard Bach, had become a literary sensation with his book Jonathan Livingston Seagull. The book’s popularity was widespread among US College campuses and among the 70’s dreamers and had inspiringly climbed to the top of the New York Times bestseller list. Many consider that it actually flew. It is told in fable; the story of a seagull who loves to fly and must choose between common life and an alternative one. This book inspired a film of the same name, a ballet, and a vinyl record narrated by late actor Richard Harris, widely recognized as the beloved Dumbledore of the first two Harry Potter movies.