Instagram story viewer> @menkis_works_pottery> Tagged
Brian & Naomi Menkis(@menkis_works_pottery)'s profile avatar HD Profile

Brian & Naomi Menkis

@menkis_works_pottery

undefined
POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED
It’s been a long stressful week. I had grand plans of everything I’d accomplish this weekend but instead I’m snuggled up with a cuppa of Oh Bother tea from @queenspantryteas and my big Luisa blanket I’m making. Taking a much needed breather today. Blanket pattern by @entre.tejidos.crochet Mug: @menkis_works_pottery
7
Download
Today is the day Kristen’s floral fillers are ready! These work up so prettily and give your bouquet some extra charm. They look fabulous in my mom’s bouquet. Patterns: @junebugandjames Vase: @menkis_works_pottery
8
Download
These amazing Floral Fillers are what inspired me to finally make my mom’s bouquet. Kristen blew me away with these. Honestly, Bells of Ireland left me speechless. I love how each one was designed and they will look incredible in all bouquets. Patterns: @junebugandjames Vase: @menkis_works_pottery
5
Download
My momma is a true southern gem. Her house has been a safe haven for so many over the years. She takes hospitality to the next level. So her bouquet definitely needed bluebonnets. Pattern: @junebugandjames with a mod from @dearlittledudley Vase: @menkis_works_pottery
10
Download
My mom has begged me for a bouquet of @junebugandjames flowers for a long time. When deciding colors and flowers I knew I needed some RED and the peony was perfect. Pattern: @junebugandjames Vase: @menkis_works_pottery
4
Download
C is for Coneflower. @junebugandjames makes the BEST flower patterns. She’s about to release some great floral fillers so keep your eyes out. This is her Coneflower pattern and I’ve been saving this yarn to make a coneflower for my mom’s bouquet and I couldn’t be happier with the results. Pattern: @junebugandjames Vase: @menkis_works_pottery
4
Download
Brian Menkis @menkis_works_pottery here with my last post for the Strictly Functional Takeover. Thank you so much to the organizers for this opportunity, and to all of you who have taken the time to read and look at these posts! I’ve been focusing on wood firing, but that is only one facet of my pottery production. I’m very blessed to work with my wife, Naomi who is an amazing potter, and a lot of our work is collaborative! When not wood firing, we are pumping out cone 6 electric fired pots. With nature as an inspiration, Naomi often presses plants into leather hard clay to decorate her surfaces. Over time she has convinced me to let her put these impressions on some of my pots as well. In turn this has inspired me throw different forms that I wouldn’t have come up with before. I think the work we make together is some of our strongest. I wouldn’t be where I am today without her by my side! We were recently interviewed by Paul Blais @pdblais for the Potters Cast, and got to talk about working together, so check it out if you are interested in hearing more about that! (Episode 1209) Lastly I’ll say that I’ve always been drawn to large pots, and slowly am building the skills to make them. I am looking forward to fitting more in our bigger kiln, and hopefully expanding into some sculptural work as well. In fact some of the very first pieces I made in clay were sculptures for an anagama firing back in 2018. Ever since, I’ve wanted to make larger versions, and earlier this year I hand-built the biggest piece in clay I’ve ever made. It is drying and waiting to be loaded in the kiln… hopefully this summer! Thanks so much! Please follow us @menkis_works_pottery if you want to keep in touch! -Brian #ceramics #strictlyfunctionalpotterynational #functionalpottery #menkisworkspottery #handmadepottery
1
Download
Hi! Brian (@menkis_works_pottery ) here again! As promised, here is a bit about firing our new wood kiln. We dubbed it “the Firefly” since we spent many an evening finishing work on it while the fireflies came out last summer. Firing is definitely a collaborative effort, and we are very thankful for the friends and family who have come out to help and support us! We have been very blessed in this pyromaniacal adventure! The first firing took about 36 hours and burned a little more than a cord of wood. We started Saturday morning and took shifts through the night, finishing Sunday evening. At cone 10 we put in 10lbs of soda (which ended up being too much!). It ended up with cone 12 down at the front and 9 at the back. It went smoothly overall, especially after we realized that we didn’t need as many air ports open as we thought. For the second firing (just this past march) we tried a new night shift rhythm. At about 10pm the kiln was around 900 degrees, we closed down the air and damper and filled up the firebox, and went to bed! We checked on it at 1am (thanks @worksofhope !) and it had only dropped 100 degrees, so we filled up the fire box again and went back to bed until 4am. It was still around 900 degrees and everything went smoothly from then on. We are really excited about this, because it will make wood firing a bit easier for Naomi and I to do on our own, especially with our kids to take care of. We used less soda in this firing, and tried more pine instead of just oak for fuel. Keeping the air closed down also helped us maintain a more consistent temperature rise this time. There are so many variables to wood firing, and we are just barely scratching the surface! We already dreaming about the next one! We’d love to hear your questions or feedback, thanks for reading this far! -Brian @menkis_works_pottery #ceramics #strictlyfunctionalpotterynational #functionalpottery #menkisworkspottery #woodfiredpottery
2
Download
Hi there, Brian Menkis (@menkis_works_pottery) here again! Last summer we finally built a proper wood fired kiln. It was a huge undertaking for us, and an adventure for our whole family. But we learned a ton and to top it off the kiln fires wonderfully! I’ll post about the firing and results too, so keep an eye out. If you are interested in the kiln build details, keep reading! The basic design was a tube /anagama style kiln with a step down grate at the front. Inside the kiln is 67.5” from the front to the back wall, and 36” wide. The chamber area is 45” deep and we can stack up four 18”x16” kiln shelves. It probably holds about 30-40 cubic feet. The chamber arch is a catenary, and brings the inside height to about 50”. The chimney is 9x36” at the base and corbels in to 9x18”. It is about 14 feet tall. I got a lot of measurements from the Kiln Book by Fred Olsen and tried to oversize the air and chimney so it wouldn’t stall. We laid everything with a 50/50 fireclay/grog mortar, and all the bricks are straight except the first row of the arch. The arch has 2 layers of 1” refractory fiber and a stucco scratch coat over chicken wire. We had 2000 bricks and used nearly all of them in the kiln! I’ll try to answer any questions if you have them! Thanks for following along! -Brian @menkis_works_pottery #sfpntakeover #strictlyfunctionalpotterynational #woodfiredkiln #menkisworkspottery #woodfiredpottery
16
Download
Hello, Brian here again! I wanted to share with you some of the inspiration behind my work!   When making pots I am inspired both by the process and materials, as well as the rich historic traditions of ceramics across the globe. One tradition in particular that stands out for me is salt glazing – especially as its origins in Medieval Germany can be traced to early American salt glaze ware made in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania where I live now!   I am really intrigued by the medieval jug shapes made in Seigburg Germany. One image I saw of a 14th century jug at the Met really captured my attention. I was struck by the energy of the throwing rings and the rawness of the clay. I loved the tension between the heavy pinched base and the upward elegance of the form. I thought it felt ancient and modern at the same time, like a medieval precursor to Brancusi’s sculpture “bird in space. I also really love the Bellarmine or Bartman jugs with their swollen bellies and grotesque bearded faces. Each one has its own character and personality, and I can’t help but wonder how it reflects its maker.   I love the idea that by making these historically inspired forms I can become a part of the continuum of ceramic tradition, and in a way find a direct connection to the makers of the past. -Brian #sfpntakeover #strictlyfunctionalpotterynational #woodfiredkiln #menkisworkspottery #woodfiredpottery @menkis_works_pottery
5
Download
Hello, Brian here again! I wanted to share a bit more about the first wood kiln I built back in 2021. It was actually a conversion of 2 electric kilns stacked on top of each other. The lower two kiln rings form a firebox and three rings are stacked on top for the ware chamber. We loaded the kiln from the top (by climbing up on ladders) and stacked a small chimney on top each firing. it was basically a small updraft fast fire kiln, and we could fit around 40 pots in each firing. We would fire for about 12hrs, and use up just five wheelbarrows full of firewood. It was very efficient! Since we knew there wouldn’t be much ash buildup we decided to soda fire the kiln as well. We played around with both salt and soda, and settled on a mixture of the two. We mix up the soda/salt with sawdust and water and fill up egg cartons that are easy to chuck into the fire box. This kiln was a fantastic way to learn how to fire with wood and test clays and slips. We had over 10 firings before we decided the kiln was deteriorating too much, plus we were ready to build a bigger kiln! #sfpntakeover #strictlyfunctionalpotterynational #woodfiredkiln #menkisworkspottery #woodfiredpottery @menkis_works_pottery
22
Download
Hello! My name is Brian Menkis, and I am a potter in Central Pennsylvania. I was very honored to have a set of wood fired steins accepted into Strictly Functional 2025, and grateful to be able to share about myself with this IG takeover! I share a studio with my lovely wife Naomi, and together we are @menkis_works_pottery . We met in college while studying art at Messiah University (where I now work as a studio tech/gallery director/adjunct prof). I was making sculpture and Naomi was a painter, but as our family grew, our studio time became more limited and having separate art practices was difficult. We became interested in pottery, and it quickly grew to be a way we could be creative together, and involve our whole family in the process. From the beginning of our journey in pottery we have always been interested in wood firing, but didn’t always have the opportunity to do it. Through some determination and lots of providence we have found a way to build kilns and teach ourselves to wood fire. I want to share about our journey so stay tuned for the next two days! Thanks for following along! -Brian #sfpntakeover #artisttakeover #arttakeover #ceramics #strictlyfunctionalpotterynational
0
Download
back to up