About Joseph Quillan

Joseph Quillan

Growing up in Southern California’s San Fernando Valley, Joseph Quillan’s memories of his childhood always focus around three things, nature, animals, and art. He was blessed to grow up with a large pond behind his parent’s home, where he and the neighborhood kids would play. His first “artworks” were shaping the mud and grasses to look like the animals of the pond. Turtles, frogs, ducks, and even the fish in the pond became the subjects of his budding sculpture career, and as that child, he never imagined his works to come would represent some of the most accomplished environmentalists, oceanographers, researchers, and scientists of the day. I mean, he was just a kid you know, and there were Pollywogs to capture…

Intrigued with nature, animals, and wildlife, Joseph took jobs at kennels, shelters, joined the American Cetacean Society to “save whales”, and even helped write an article for “Whalewatcher” magazine. By the age of 20, Joseph had attended the Gemological Institute of America for advanced jewelry design, creating custom jewelry, including his first series of turtles and frogs playing sports, selling them to his growing list of collectors. While displaying his jewelry and sculpture at a charity event at the Los Angeles Zoo, he met Betty White, who encouraged his passion for wildlife. In fact, Joseph was encouraged by many animal lovers and activists of the day he met, including Bob Barker, Susan Dey, and Actors and Others for Animals president, Earl Holliman, who asked Joseph to display his artwork for their first benefit in Studio City, CA.