J. B. Blunk

J. B. Blunk 

J. B. Blunk 

J. B. Blunk 

J. B. Blunk 

J. B. Blunk 

J. B. Blunk was a sculptor known primarily for working in wood. After serving in the United States Army in Korea, he met sculptor Isamu Noguchi in Japan and served apprenticeships with Japanese potter Kitaoji Rosanjin and potter and Living National Treasure Toyo Kaneshige. Blunk was the first American to apprentice into the line of descent of that country’s great ceramic tradition.

After returning to the USA, Blunk was eventually able to build his own home and studio near Inverness, California. In 1962, Blunk started working in wood and was crafting furniture and installations out of redwood, which were unprecedented in their size and degree of abstraction.

Blunk graduated from UCLA, where he studied under Laura Andreson.