Wanchese Pottery

There always is something creative popping up at Wanchese Pottery in downtown Manteo. The year round gallery is picturesque with its lovely flowers flanking the steps to the cottage-style venue. Inside you will discover working potters, their ceramic wares as well as other creative ideas they have been designing of late. Wife and husband team, Bonnie and Bob Morrill work side by side at the gallery. They are personable, and ready and willing to help you with your selections, and they make the pottery themselves. Another recent endeavor is a painting kit Bonnie put together that allows people on all levels of expertise to enjoy a group project. With making memories in mind, Morrill tried out the kit with great success.

Her recent birthday party had the prerequisite surprise only it was the guests who were caught on the receiving end. When Morrill celebrated her 60^th birthday recently, she set up watercolor paper on an easel and invited family and friends to add strokes to the beginnings of a still life with flowers. When the project turned into a great success – even folks who couldn’t imagine painting got into it – Morrill and her three sisters saw a potential product. They designed a kit called Brushstroke Memories complete with temporary easel, watercolor paper, samples of flowers, brushes and other mark-making objects, sample paintings, palette knife, paint, a vase to stencil and a wood palette handcrafted by Morrrill’s brother.  It sells at Morrill’s pottery shop along with her latest creation, Secretarial Wisdom. 

Remember the days when secretaries clunked away on manual typewriters and all knew shorthand? Morrill remembered the lyrical quality of the written characters and how just a few lines became symbols for the words thank you, imagine, hope, dream, believe and happy birthday. She’s merged those characters with her clay to create a line of Secretarial Wisdom jewelry featuring striking pendants and pins. Stop by to see her wearable, modern day memos, and meet the artists!