I Do Love Ocean Springs

March 27-31, 2025                                                     Most Recent Posts:
Davis Bayou Campground              Walter Anderson and Shearwater Pottery
Gulf Islands National Seashore                        Florida’s Tallest Waterfall
Ocean Springs, Mississippi

Among the many things to do in the sweet town of Ocean Springs is the Fresh Market on Saturday Morning.  It is held in the parking lot of the vintage train station which also contains the VERY small visitor’s center to the right of building’s center and Realizations, the Walter Anderson Shop on the left end.

Everything Walter Anderson is in there.  Books, prints, pottery clothing, scarves and more.  Those who know me, know well how much I hate to shop, even the grocery store.  But I could have spent all day in this small two room shop.  So engaged was I that I took no pictures. 

But I did do this one of what I finally purchased.  A long sleeve T shirt which I love, 2 bookmarks and a new keychain for Winnona.  If you enlarge the picture you may be able to see that the book mark is pelicans and the keychain a crab.

My budget is small as is space in Winnona.
Were both of those not true I could have spent a serious amount of money in this wonderful place.  I was very proud of myself that I bought no books.

Back to the Saturday Fresh Market

I love mushrooms.  These folks call themselves Down Home Mushrooms.  They had some amazing ones.  Guess which ones went home with me?

This is a picture of the ones just outside the left edge of the photo above.  Can you believe the size of them?

Here is the answer to the question which did I buy.  At home, on a plate, just before slice and fry in butter.  Fantastic wild but sweet flavor.  I would eat a lot of mushrooms if I lived in Ocean Springs.

Of course at a Fresh market there were Fresh vegetables.

I loved his sign and as pretty much everyone  knows, I have many many sweet teeth but you may be surprised to hear that Pralines are actually too sweet for me.

But donuts are another story.  Their sweet is just right.  In my hometown of Charlottesville Virginia there was for many years a family run donut shop called Spud Nuts.  They made the hands down best fresh donuts ever and as a bonus you could get them hot with chocolate drizzle or coconut.  When I saw there was a Tato Nut shop in Ocean Springs I was there.

Here’s what I brought home.  As you can see unlike Spudnuts, Tato nuts has things other than donuts.  As much as they are beloved in Ocean Springs, their coconut donut could not match up to my hometown favorites.   I grieve their retirement every time I am back in C’ville.

Marshall Park in Ocean Springs is a lovely oasis with gorgeous mature trees.  In 1989, Historic Ocean Springs Association relocated the original 1911 bandstand back to the center of the park.

From atop the bandstand  you can view the three lovely murals done by Walter Anderson’s grandson artist Christopher Ingles Sibley.  The Anderson legacy is evident in them.

You can look closely at the detail by enlarging the picture.

Not the same as his grandfather’s work but the influence is evident and I am thrilled to see the artistic vision and style  of Walter Anderson continuing in his family.

IF I were to move to Oceans Springs, I want this as my license plate.  Maybe I’d have to be PELICN2.

On another morning I tried out the sweets shop French Kiss Pastries.

I’m sure it was much busier earlier in the morning.  Looking in the case, that was evident.

Although I was a bit late for much choice in pastries, I settled for a favorite of mine, pecan roll.   Seen here after I got it home.

I could spend days visiting the Walter Anderson Museum of Art and wandering around Ocean Springs up and down their streets lined with wonderful oak trees like this huge one that I could not get entirely in the picture.  It’s located across from the library which frequent readers know is always a stop of mine in any town.

 

More lovely oaks  in front of the library.

Ocean Springs library does not disappoint.  Wonderful displays of current books with comfy chairs for reading, an entire section of used books for sale where I could not help but pick up a couple and an enchanting children’s section

The ends of the bookshelves made me smile.

I’m ready for crawfish so I had lunch at The Lady May.

They have three different crawfish dishes and I wish I could have tried them all.  Obviously I will have to return and stay longer to do that.  This one, on their brunch menu, is called Biscuit Monica.  Fried Crawfish with cream sauce served on a homemade biscuit with sausage.   It was delicious

And finally, how about this public art installation hanging above Cash Alley?  That’s Pop Brothers, as in Popsicle shop, in the background.

Although I wanted to end this post with the Cash Alley picture, I couldn’t resist the chalk board menu seen above at Pop Brothers.  What fun!  So many different types and flavors of popsicles.  Who knew?  And there are Poptails too.  Hope you can read the menu.

This was a difficult post to do since I have so many more pictures.  It covers only a small part of all that I saw on my many days of just walking in Ocean Springs.  Hope it’s clear that it’s one of my very favorite places. 

I fantasize about what it would be like to live in this seemingly great place but then I think about being permanently so far away from Carrie and about the probable politics of the area and the probable hurricanes.  But I can dream and maybe visit once a year???

Walter Anderson and Shearwater Pottery

March 27-31, 2025                                                    Most Recent Posts:
Davis Bayou Campground                            Florida’s Tallest Waterfall
Gulf Islands National Seashore        Last Visit to Silver Springs for This Year
Ocean Springs, Mississippi

I am in Ocean Springs Mississippi for two reasons.
1- It’s on the way to Albuquerque  and The Gathering of All Nations
2- Walter Anderson

My last visit here with David was the first time I saw in person the stunning murals of Walter Anderson.   I have always wanted to return to both the wonderful little town, the water and the Walter Anderson Museum.  This visit only made me want to come again for a month(s).

Like last time I stayed at the National Seashore Campground, Davis Bayou.  It has everything I needed, water, electric, a dump station, hiking trails, an interesting Visitor’s Center and a short drive to Ocean Springs.

Usually on the day I arrive somewhere, I get set up and fix dinner and chill out.  But not here.  I set up as fast as I can and head over to the Walter Anderson Museum which is housed in the former Ocean Springs Community Center.   I simply could not wait to see the main room again.

In 1949-50 the town of  Ocean Springs built a new community center.  Walter Anderson volunteered to paint the walls with a mural for $1 plus supplies.  The room is seriously beyond belief gorgeous.  I’m only going to show a few pictures of it here.  If they intrigue you, my previous post done in May of 2013 has many more and better pictures including some long shots to show you the magnitude of the entire room.  Here is a link to it.

The whole room is the canvas for the monumental 3,000 square foot murals, which depict the historic discovery of the Mississippi Coast and its diverse climates and natural beauty.

Can you find these pelicans in the above mural?

Or this cat in the one above.

I stayed in the room for well over an hour just being hypnotized by this art until I was overwhelmed and had to leave.

It is simply magnificent.

Definitely want to figure out how to be able to see this.  Apparently I have to have PBS Passport.

The next day I ventured out to Shearwater Pottery which was the Anderson Family business started by Walter’s older brother Peter, a master potter, in 1928.  As this picture says, Walter and his younger brother Mac worked at the pottery most of their lives.  They decorated the pots Peter created.   Still owned and run by the members of the Anderson Family, it is one of the oldest continually running family potteries in the southeast.  In the photo, Peter is standing, Walter is sitting to his right and Mac to Walter’s right.

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 severally damaged 17 of the 19 buildings of the Pottery including the showroom, repaired and shown below,  the Annex,  the main workshop, the glaze room and kiln houses.  In addition, six of the Anderson Family homes on the property were destroyed including those of Peter Anderson’s children who are the current owners/operators of Shearwater Pottery. 

The workshop building (not shown) was rebuilt and restored by Jason Stebly, Walter’s grandson.  Pottery continues to be thrown by Peter's son James Anderson, the current master potter, and his son Peter Wade Anderson, and decorated by Patricia Anderson Findeisen,  Christopher Inglis Stebly, Adele Anderson Lawton all members of the family.

John Anderson (son of Walter Anderson) was quoted as saying, about 80 percent of his father's artwork went underwater and his cottage “floated like a houseboat” before coming down, damaged, in a different spot.

I love Walter Anderson’s artistic work so that I feel grief when I hear again about how much of his art was damaged and lost in Hurricane Katrina.  Below is a chest he made and decorated which was damaged but retrieved.  

Walter (whom his family called Bob)  not only painted but did woodwork, carving, created furniture, did silk screening, block prints and created and painted  figurines like this Shearwater.  That’s probably not all but it’s all I can think of.

One room of the show room building is a museum of original works.

Shearwater Pottery is high-grade hard fired earthenware intended for functional as well as decorative use.

Peter created sets of dishes which could be purchased in 4 piece sets.  The plates for each pattern, drawn and painted by Walter or Mac, line one room at the ceiling.  I wish I had taken a picture of all the plate designs running around the top of that room.  This is one plate.  At the time you could order a set.  

Shearwater still produces beautifully glazed dinnerware as well as lamps, bookends, and other functional decorative ware.  They also offer figurines, tiles, animals, birds, marine life.  Take a look at their web page under Shearwater Products, if only to see the beauty of their pottery.

Walter’s famous alligator as a silk screen. 

All of these are replicas of the work of Walter Anderson.  The originals of course are museum pieces.

My next post will be about the lovely little town of Ocean Springs and the Gulf Islands National Seashore where I stayed.