Explore the Collection
For LeeAnn Seaburg Perry, carving stone is like reading the best book of all time — she can barely put it down. Each piece begins with a stone and an inspiration. The joy of discovering what lies within motivates every cut.
The Artist
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LeeAnn Seaburg Perry earned her Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture at Pratt Institute in New York. She has been carving stone for over thirty years from her many studios in WA, MA, IL, CO and now, back home in Tumwater, WA. She works in alabaster, marble, and soapstone — revealing the human forms she discovers within each piece.
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"The joy of discovering the mystery held within the stone motivates my work," she says. "I always see a human form captured in the stone. My first cuts release the head. The lines of the body follow."
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Her sculptures are held in private collections across the United States and in many countries abroad — including the personal collection of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
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In August 1993, just as Justice Ginsburg was about to be sworn in to the Supreme Court, she visited the Bristol Gallery in Denver and discovered LeeAnn’s work. To celebrate her appointment, she purchased a piece titled “Virgin Queen” — a moment that remains among LeeAnn’s proudest as a sculptor.
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Upcoming Event: LeeAnn has been selected as a Spotlight Demo artist at the South Sound Studio Tour. Join her for a live demonstration on Saturday, May 30, 12:30–1:00 pm. Her studio will be open from 11:00–4:00. Studio address: 3119 68th Ave. SW, Tumwater, WA 98512.
Original Sculptures
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Each piece begins with raw, uncut stone that LeeAnn studies from all angles until the stone inspires her. She works by hand, carving alabaster, marble, and soapstone to reveal the figures she discovers within. Contact LeeAnn to inquire about available works.
Collections and the Process
LeeAnn carves using the classical hand-tool method — chisel, hammer, rasps, and a small grinding wheel. The process is slow and deliberate, keeping her in constant tactile contact with the stone's surface. Six progressively finer grits of diamond sandpaper, worked with water, bring each piece to its final luminosity. When the sculpture is complete, I design and commission a custom wood base created specifically for the piece. Most of these bases include a turntable, allowing you to rotate the sculpture with just a touch of your finger rather than having to lift and move it by hand.
The Materials
Geological Diversity
LeeAnn works across the geological spectrum: Vermont Imperial Marble, Yule Colorado Marble, Washington and Vermont Soapstone, Utah Alabaster, Pacific Northwest Sandstone, and regional Limestone. Each stone has its own character — marble glows with inner warmth, alabaster translucency lights a figure from within, soapstone demands a slow and meditative hand.