Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Sunday, Oct 05, 2025

Inspired by the Blunk House, a Sculptor Transforms a Rustic California Cabin Into an Evolving Work of Art

Inspired by the Blunk House, a Sculptor Transforms a Rustic California Cabin Into an Evolving Work of Art

The handmade cabin owned by Ido Yoshimoto (J.B. Blunk's godson) is featured in the book 'How to Get Away,' alongside retreats that dot remote forests around the world.

If you’ve spent time in and around Inverness, a misty, rustic Marin County enclave most famous for its community of artists, proximity to the Point Reyes Light House, and abundance of oyster farms, you may have heard of J.B. Blunk. Blunk, a Kansas-born sculptor who escaped to the wilds of Northern California to live off the grid, created his famous, organic sculptures out of wood, clay, and stone. His massive sculpture and master work “The Planet” (1969) was carved from the stump of an ancient redwood and is a must-see at the Oakland Museum of Art. His house, known simply as the Blunk House, has been preserved as a museum.

And it’s become a kind of prototype, like George Nakashima’s house in Pennsylvania, or Georgia O’Keeffe’s house in New Mexico, for people who want to live simply and deliberately in nature, surrounded by handmade, carefully curated objects. Blunk’s godson, fellow sculptor Ido Yoshimoto, is one of them. In the book How to Get Away: Cabins, Cottages, Hideouts and the Design of the Retreat by Laura May Todd (Lannoo Publishers), Yoshimoto’s handmade cabin is featured alongside retreats that dot remote forests around the world, from Marrakech to the Stockholm archipelago.

One glance at Yoshimoto’s simple cabin, though, and it’s clear that this house could only exist in California.

Yoshimoto took over a simple cabin at the end of a dirt road and slowly transformed it into a handmade retreat.

Yoshimoto was raised nearby in Marin County and followed in the footsteps of Blunk and his own father, Rick Yoshimoto, a fellow sculptor. He poured his heart and soul into the woodland retreat at the end of a dirt road, about 2.5 hours north of San Francisco but worlds away.

Yoshimoto’s art collection, including ceramics made by his father, Rick, and godfather, J.B. Blunk, is on display throughout the tiny house.

“When I took over, the building was uninhabited for many years and the forest had encroached onto the property,” Yoshimoto says in the book about the existing structure, which was built in the 1980s. “There have been multiple residents and each has added on or modified the design.”

He added to the original structure, from shelves and lights to tables and stools throughout the humble cabin and workshop.

It doesn’t get more rustic than this tiny kitchen, which makes space for essentials in a small corner of the structure.


“My goal was to create something comfortable and liveable while applying my aesthetic and using the materials available, most of which were reused and reclaimed scraps from my art studio,” says Yoshimoto, whose artwork, which is carved from blocks of wood, has been shown in galleries around the world.


“Every plate, cup, and bowl has been made by an artist that I know or collected from travels,” he says. That includes ceramic pieces made by his father and Blunk, and paintings by friend Jessica Niello and Californian artist Raymond Yelland. “I really enjoy having a personal collection. To let things curate themselves by way of connection.”

The sleeping area is separated from the main living space by a curtain.

The home, like Blunk’s, is an ever-changing art exhibit that will continue to evolve and age with Yoshimoto. And it embodies that rustic, time-worn, beautifully weathered aesthetic that Inverness is famous for.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
×