Wender·Vista
Mount Kenya
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileKenya
on the equator, in central Kenya

Mount Kenya

— — ice on the line of the sun.

— 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

“A stratovolcano on the equator, second highest in Africa after Kilimanjaro. Batian at 5,199 metres carries the last of the mountain's glaciers, melting back faster each decade. The Kikuyu call it Kirinyaga, the place of brightness, and for centuries faced their houses toward its summit. Clouds usually close by mid-morning. Climbing season runs January to February and August to September.

from the studio
Mount Kenya
— bring it home

Mount Kenya, 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 Mount Kenya

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

Mount Kenya is a stratovolcano in central Kenya, about 200 km north of Nairobi, straddling the equator. Its highest peak, Batian, rises 5,199 metres (17,057 ft); Nelion follows at 5,188 m; the trekking summit Lenana reaches 4,985 m. The mountain anchors Mount Kenya National Park and a UNESCO World Heritage site declared in 1997. Erosion has carved the original cone into a ring of jagged peaks; the last eruption was roughly 2.6 million years ago, leaving the present skyline.

— the air

The mountain holds four climatic zones inside its vertical band: forest, bamboo, moorland, and the high alpine desert above 4,000 metres. Above the moorland the air thins fast; trekkers heading for Point Lenana are warned about altitude sickness from 4,200 m onward. Vegetation drops away to giant lobelias and senecios found nowhere else on Earth. Equatorial sun by day, sub-freezing nights, sometimes both in the same hour. The summit glaciers, eleven of them in 1900, are now down to a handful.

— informed by Wikipedia: Mount Kenya
— the season

The mountain has two dry windows that match the climbing season: January to early March, and June to October. Both are framed by long rains in April and May and short rains in November. Within the dry windows mornings are clear; clouds normally close the summit by ten or eleven. The forest belt holds elephant, buffalo, and bushbuck; the moorland holds rock hyrax and the occasional leopard. The Kikuyu, Embu, and Meru still hold the mountain as sacred ground.

— where
Kenya · Central Kenya
— within
Mount Kenya National Park
— elevation
5,199 m · 17,057 ft
— position
-0.1521° S · 37.3084° E
— 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.
30 km N
Nanyuki
gateway town
15 km W
Naro Moru
climbing gateway
30 km E
Chogoria
climbing gateway
60 km W
Aberdare Range
mountain range
50 km N
Lewa Wildlife Conservancy
conservancy
N
Mount Kenya
Nanyuki
Naro Moru
Chogoria
Aberdare Range
Lewa Wildlife Conservancy
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Mount Kenya — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Mount Kenya's highest summit, Batian, stands 5,199 metres (17,057 feet) above sea level. Nelion is 5,188 m and Point Lenana, the trekking summit, is 4,985 m. It is the second-highest mountain in Africa.

It is in central Kenya, about 200 km north of Nairobi, straddling the equator. The mountain sits inside Mount Kenya National Park and a surrounding UNESCO World Heritage forest reserve.

Yes. Point Lenana, at 4,985 metres, is a trekking summit reached by three main routes, Sirimon, Chogoria, and Naro Moru, over three to five days. Batian and Nelion require alpine climbing.

The two dry windows are January to early March and June to October. April and May bring the long rains; November brings the short rains. Clouds usually close the summit by mid-morning.

A few remnants. The mountain held about eleven named glaciers in 1900, including the Lewis and Tyndall. Most have disappeared since the 1980s and the remaining ice is expected to be gone within decades.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well for that. The artwork reads the mountain at its high alpine register, Batian and Nelion under cold light. A Medium or Large with a handwritten studio note suits a summit memory.

The cold blues and ash greys settle into Mountain-Modern, Lodge Modern, and Jewel-tone Maximalist rooms. The Voynich line work also reads against warm walnut in Library Traditional settings.

A single Large covers most consoles. Above a standard sofa, a four-tile Mural or nine-tile Mural carries the wall without crowding. A Coaster Set works for desks and tray tables.

Yes. Choose the Dura Satin or Matte finish for vertical installs near water; both are scratch-resistant and read well under mixed light. The Glossy finish is best in dry rooms.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece originates in the studio under Reid's eye; nothing is licensed in. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure.

— if this one stayed with you

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