JB Blunk, photographed in his studio in Iverness, California, circa 1988.

Zen and the Art of JB Blunk

Inspired by the American sculptor, lifelong Buddhist, and master of handmade objects, an exhibition in California showcases candleholders created by more than 100 international artists and designers

By Spike Carter

“I think life is a series of beginnings,” said the sculptor JB Blunk, who lived from 1926 to 2002, “and the one who feels they are always a beginner is the one who has the best chance.” A student of Zen Buddhism, Blunk saw work as a source of infinite inspiration, a medium, if you will, unencumbered by the constraints of time. “When you’ve created something that makes a difference to someone, that juice, that energy, occurs through us. See, I think all the discoveries, all the essence is already in existence.”

Born in Kansas, James “JB” Blain Blunk moved to California when he was 20. At U.C.L.A., he initially studied physics, then switched majors to ceramics, where he came under the tutelage of Laura Andreson, who had created the program. A class field trip to see work by the esteemed Japanese potter Shoji Hamada proved revelatory for Blunk. “It was a shock,” he recalled. “I walked into the room and something went ping! I have to figure out a way to get to Japan.”