shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileNew Zealand

across Foveaux Strait, south of the South Island

Stewart Island/Rakiura

Name: Stewart Island/Rakiura — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— the island the southern lights still find.

— 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

— 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

“New Zealand's third-largest island, separated from the South Island by the rough water of Foveaux Strait. The Maori name Rakiura means 'glowing skies', for the aurora australis that visits in winter and for the long sub-Antarctic dusks. About 400 people live at Oban on Halfmoon Bay. Rakiura National Park covers most of the rest.

from the studio

— bring it home

Stewart Island/Rakiura, 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 Stewart Island/Rakiura

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

Rakiura lies 30 km south of the South Island across Foveaux Strait, reached by a one-hour ferry from Bluff or a 20-minute flight from Invercargill. The island covers 1,680 km² and ranks as New Zealand's third-largest. Around 400 people live year-round at Oban on Halfmoon Bay; almost everyone else is a tramper or a bird. Rakiura National Park, gazetted in 2002, protects roughly 85 percent of the land. The Maori name Rakiura means 'glowing skies'.

— informed by Department of Conservation

— the silence

Beyond Oban the road network ends within twenty kilometres. The Rakiura Track, a 32 km Great Walk through southern rata forest and along the harbour, takes most trampers three days; the harder North West Circuit takes ten. The island is one of the last places in New Zealand where the tokoeka, the Stewart Island brown kiwi, can be heard at night and occasionally seen in daylight on the beaches at Mason Bay.

— informed by DOC: Rakiura Track

— the light

At 47° south, the island sits closer to Antarctica than any other inhabited land in New Zealand. Astronomers consider it one of the world's clearest dark skies, and in 2019 Rakiura was certified an International Dark Sky Sanctuary, the southernmost on Earth. The aurora australis is visible from the foreshore at Oban on clear winter nights between April and September, most reliably during the geomagnetic peaks of the eleven-year solar cycle.

— informed by DarkSky International

— where

New Zealand · Oban, Southland

— within

Rakiura National Park

— elevation

0 m · 0 ft

— position

-46.8939° S · 168.1267° 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.

at the lake

Oban (Halfmoon Bay)

village

25 km W

Mason Bay

dune beach

4 km S

Ulva Island

predator-free bird sanctuary

Stewart Island/Rakiura

Oban (Halfmoon Bay)

Mason Bay

Ulva Island

— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Stewart Island/Rakiura — and about bringing the piece home.

— about the place

About 30 km south of New Zealand's South Island across Foveaux Strait. The island covers 1,680 km² and is the country's third-largest, with around 400 year-round residents at Oban on Halfmoon Bay.

In te reo Maori, Rakiura means 'glowing skies'. The name reads both as the long southern dusks of these latitudes and as the aurora australis often visible from the foreshore in winter.

A one-hour passenger ferry from Bluff sails twice daily in summer, and Stewart Island Flights runs a 20-minute service from Invercargill year-round. There is no car ferry to the island.

Gazetted in 2002, the park covers about 85 percent of the island, roughly 1,570 km² of southern rata forest, dunes, and granite tops. The Rakiura Track Great Walk runs 32 km through it.

Yes. The Stewart Island tokoeka is unusually active in daylight, particularly on the beaches at Mason Bay. Rakiura is one of the few places in New Zealand where wild kiwi can reliably be observed by walkers.

— about the piece in your home

Many of our customers send a Small or Medium to Southlanders, trampers, or family who grew up at Halfmoon Bay. A Coaster pairs well with a handwritten note from the studio.

The deep teals and southern greens suit coastal-modern, Scandinavian, and Pacific-modern interiors. The piece reads well against rimu, oiled oak, and pale linen.

A single Large covers most three-seat sofas. A 4-tile Mural lets the strait and the bush stretch. A 9-tile Mural suits a stair landing or larger living room.

Yes. Choose Dura Satin for a scratch-resistant soft sheen, or Matte for no reflection. Both finishes handle steam and wipe clean with a damp microfibre cloth.

A damp microfibre cloth and water is all that's needed. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, so it will not lift or fade with cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in-house in Knoxville, Tennessee. We do not license artwork from other studios.

— if this one stayed with you