Wender·Vista
Ellesmere Island
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileCanada
in the Canadian high Arctic, above the eightieth parallel

Ellesmere Island

— the light that goes around the world instead of setting.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The third-largest island in Canada and one of the least-visited places on earth. Ellesmere sits above the eightieth parallel, with Greenland a narrow strait to the east. The sun stays up from April into August and stays down from October into February. Most of the island is glacier, plateau, and tundra; the village of Grise Fiord, population around 130, is the only true settlement on it.

from the studio
Ellesmere Island
— bring it home

Ellesmere Island, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Ellesmere Island

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Ellesmere Island is the northernmost of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, in the territory of Nunavut. It covers 196,236 square kilometres, making it the tenth-largest island in the world and the third-largest in Canada. The island's northern coast reaches 83°N, about 770 kilometres from the geographic North Pole. Quttinirpaaq National Park, established in 1988, protects the upper fifth of the island, 37,775 square kilometres of icefield, polar desert, and the mountains of the Grant Land Range.

— the silence

Few places carry a quieter silence. Ellesmere has no roads, no trees, and almost no permanent residents. Grise Fiord, on the southern coast, holds the entire civilian population at around 130 people. The interior holds Lake Hazen, the largest lake north of the Arctic Circle by volume, and a thermal oasis that supports muskoxen, arctic hare, and Peary caribou. Aircraft from Resolute reach the park by ski-equipped Twin Otter, weather permitting. A typical research season runs six to eight weeks in summer.

— the light

From the second week of April through the last week of August the sun does not set on northern Ellesmere. From late October through late February it does not rise. Civil twilight stretches the shoulder seasons into pale hours that read more like a slow dusk than a day. CFS Alert, on the northeast tip, is the northernmost continuously inhabited place on earth and records mean January temperatures around minus thirty-three Celsius. Auroras work the autumn and spring sky.

— informed by Wikipedia: CFS Alert
— where
Canada · Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut
— within
Quttinirpaaq National Park
— position
76.4163° N · 82.9092° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
at the lake
Grise Fiord
Inuit hamlet
720 km N
CFS Alert
signals station
560 km N
Lake Hazen
Arctic lake
480 km NW
Eureka
weather station
620 km N
Tanquary Fiord
park entry fiord
N
Ellesmere Island
Grise Fiord
CFS Alert
Lake Hazen
Eureka
Tanquary Fiord
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Ellesmere Island — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

At the northernmost end of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, in Nunavut, separated from Greenland by Nares Strait. Its northern coast reaches 83°N, about 770 kilometres from the geographic North Pole.

196,236 square kilometres, larger than the island of Britain. It is the tenth-largest island in the world and the third-largest in Canada, after Baffin and Victoria.

Grise Fiord, on the southern coast, is the only civilian settlement, with around 130 residents. CFS Alert, on the northeast tip, houses a rotating Canadian Forces signals station, the northernmost continuously inhabited place on earth.

A 37,775-square-kilometre park covering the upper portion of Ellesmere Island. Established in 1988, it protects icefield, polar desert, and Lake Hazen, the largest lake by volume north of the Arctic Circle.

From mid-April through late August the sun does not set on the northern part of the island. From late October through late February it does not rise. The shoulder months hold long civil twilight.

First Iqaluit, then Resolute by scheduled Canadian North flight, then a charter Twin Otter into Grise Fiord or, for the park, onto the Lake Hazen airstrip. Travel windows are narrow and weather-dependent.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. Researchers, military rotations, and pilots who have worked north of seventy-five recognise Ellesmere on sight. The Medium hangs in an office or study; the Coaster Set carries well for a colleague.

Minimalist, Scandinavian, and quiet Modern palettes built around cool whites, slate, and ice-blue. The piece reads well next to natural wool, pale wood, and brushed steel.

Yes. The current move leans on cold-palette landscapes, fjords, ice, polar light, over saturated tropical scenes. Ellesmere sits at the far end of that aesthetic.

A single Large covers most sofas. For a wider wall a 4-tile Mural reads as one painting at distance, and a 9-tile Mural anchors a long console or stair landing.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both handle humidity and resist scratching, which makes them sound for a backsplash or a powder-room wall.

A dry or barely-damp microfibre cloth. No solvents, no abrasives. The colour lives in the ceramic surface, so cleaning will not wear it.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in-house by Reid Wender, the curator, in our distinctive visual language. No outside licensing, no stock imagery.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.