Wender·Vista
Nakuru
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileKenya
on the floor of the Great Rift Valley, in central Kenya

Nakuru

— — the lake the flamingos turn pink.

— 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 city on the floor of the Great Rift Valley, two hours northwest of Nairobi, sitting beside the soda lake that gave it its name. Lake Nakuru pulls hundreds of thousands of lesser flamingos onto its shallow alkaline edges when conditions hold. The national park around the lake also keeps black and white rhino, Rothschild's giraffe, and the yellow-bark acacias the leopards sleep in.

from the studio
Nakuru
— bring it home

Nakuru, 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 Nakuru

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

Nakuru is the capital of Nakuru County and Kenya's fourth-largest urban centre, with a population of about 570,000 in the city and 2.1 million in the wider county. It sits on the floor of the Great Rift Valley at 1,850 metres above sea level, roughly 160 kilometres northwest of Nairobi along the A104 highway. The city wraps the northern and eastern shore of Lake Nakuru, a shallow soda lake at the centre of Lake Nakuru National Park, gazetted in 1961 and covering about 188 square kilometres.

— the water

Lake Nakuru is a shallow alkaline soda lake, varying in depth between roughly one and four metres depending on the rains, with a pH that can climb past ten. The alkalinity supports vast blooms of the cyanobacterium Arthrospira fusiformis, the principal food of the lesser flamingo. In good years the lake's edges turn pink with hundreds of thousands of birds. The flamingos have moved increasingly between Nakuru, Bogoria, and Elementaita as lake levels have risen sharply since 2010 across the Rift Valley lakes.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the visit

Lake Nakuru National Park is one of Kenya's most visited reserves, reached by tar road from Nairobi in about three hours. The park is open daily, with gate fees set by the Kenya Wildlife Service in two tiers for residents and non-residents. Inside the fence are black and white rhino, Rothschild's giraffe, buffalo, and leopards that sleep in the yellow-bark acacias along the southern shore. Baboon Cliff on the western escarpment is the standard viewpoint over the lake.

— informed by Kenya Wildlife Service
— where
Kenya · Nakuru, Nakuru County
— within
Lake Nakuru National Park
— elevation
1,850 m · 6,070 ft
— position
-0.3031° S · 36.0800° 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.
5 km S
Lake Nakuru
soda lake
5 km S
Lake Nakuru National Park
national park
4 km E
Hyrax Hill
prehistoric site
8 km N
Menengai Crater
caldera
30 km SE
Lake Elementaita
soda lake
N
Nakuru
Lake Nakuru
Lake Nakuru National Park
Hyrax Hill
Menengai Crater
Lake Elementaita
— common questions

What people ask.

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

On the floor of Kenya's Great Rift Valley, about 160 kilometres northwest of Nairobi at an elevation of 1,850 metres. It is the capital of Nakuru County and Kenya's fourth-largest city.

Lake Nakuru is a shallow soda lake whose alkaline water supports blooms of the cyanobacterium Arthrospira fusiformis, the lesser flamingo's primary food. In good years the lake edges turn pink with the birds.

A 188-square-kilometre reserve gazetted in 1961 around the lake. It protects black and white rhinoceros, Rothschild's giraffe, and a population of acacia-dwelling leopards, alongside the flamingos and pelicans.

Flamingo numbers vary year to year and have fallen as Rift Valley lake levels rose after 2010. The dry seasons, January to February and July to September, generally give the best viewing.

Most visitors drive from Nairobi along the A104 highway, about three hours. The park's Main Gate is on the southern edge of the city, with a second gate at Nderit on the south side.

Nakuru is a Maasai word meaning place of the dust, after the flamingo-feather dust that once drifted up off the dry lakebed during the long droughts of the early colonial period.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. Nakuru is a familiar landscape for Kenyans across generations, and the flamingo lake is part of the school field-trip tradition. A Small or Medium with a studio note carries well across distance.

The pinks and rift-valley golds suit Safari-modern interiors, Tropical-Maximalist rooms, and Eclectic spaces that lean on natural fibres, warm leather, and travel-object collections.

Yes. Safari-modern has shifted from generic prints to specific places and species. The piece sits well alongside woven sisal, brass lamps, and sand-toned linen.

A single Large covers a console table well. Above a sofa, a four-tile Mural reads at the right scale, and a nine-tile Mural carries the long pink arc of the shoreline.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both resist moisture and steam and stay scratch-resistant on vertical installs. The Glossy finish is meant for dry framed wall art.

Microfibre cloth and water. No abrasives or household cleaners. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, so normal cleaning will not lift it.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to our Knoxville studio. Reid Wender curates and finalises each painting himself, and nothing is licensed in or out.

— if this one stayed with you

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