Wender·Vista
Canyon Lake
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileArizona
on the Salt River, east of Phoenix

Canyon Lake

— — the desert holding a long blue ribbon.

— 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 reservoir held between saguaro-lined cliffs on the old Apache Trail, an hour east of Phoenix. Mormon Flat Dam pinched the Salt River here in 1925 and the canyon filled. A small steamboat still works the bends past Dolly Steamboat's dock. The water is improbably blue against the rust of the walls. Coyotes drink at the edges before dawn.

from the studio
Canyon Lake
— bring it home

Canyon Lake, 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 Canyon Lake

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

Canyon Lake sits along State Route 88, the historic Apache Trail, roughly forty miles east of Phoenix within the Tonto National Forest. It was created in 1925 when the Salt River Project completed Mormon Flat Dam, a 350-foot concrete arch impounding the Salt River. The reservoir runs about ten miles long with 28 miles of shoreline against the cliffs of the Goldfield and Superstition ranges. Boating, the Dolly Steamboat tour, and the Boulder Recreation Site sit on its north shore. Saguaro and palo verde line the rim above the water.

— the water

The blue belongs to the river the dam pinched off. The Salt River carries snowmelt from the White Mountains down through a sequence of four reservoirs — Roosevelt, Apache, Canyon, and Saguaro — that supply most of metropolitan Phoenix. Canyon Lake's surface sits around 1,660 feet, deep enough in places to stay cool through the summer. Bighorn sheep cross the slopes to drink. The Salt River Project, founded in 1903 under the federal Reclamation Act, still manages the chain. Bald eagles winter on the cliffs above the upper reaches.

— the visit

The Apache Trail to Canyon Lake is a sixty-mile loop east from Apache Junction along SR 88, partly paved and partly narrow. The Dolly Steamboat departs from a small marina near Boulder Recreation Site and runs a ninety-minute nature cruise twice daily in season. A Tonto National Forest day-use pass covers parking. The road past Tortilla Flat closes seasonally after monsoon damage. Best light comes mid-morning, when the eastern walls glow and the water turns cobalt against the rust.

— where
United States · Maricopa County, Arizona
— within
Tonto National Forest
— elevation
506 m · 1,660 ft
— position
33.5350° N · 111.4220° 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.
5 km E
Tortilla Flat
historic stage stop
30 km W
Apache Junction
town
15 km S
Superstition Mountains
mountain range
12 km W
Saguaro Lake
reservoir
N
Canyon Lake
Tortilla Flat
Apache Junction
Superstition Mountains
Saguaro Lake
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Canyon Lake sits forty miles east of Phoenix in the Tonto National Forest, along State Route 88, the historic Apache Trail. It is the third reservoir down the Salt River chain.

Mormon Flat Dam, completed in 1925 by the Salt River Project, impounded the Salt River to form Canyon Lake. The dam is a 350-foot concrete arch in a narrow canyon section.

Canyon Lake covers roughly 950 surface acres with 28 miles of shoreline. The reservoir runs about ten miles long between cliff walls that rise several hundred feet above the water.

Desert bighorn sheep climb the cliffs to drink at the shore. Bald eagles winter on the upper reaches, coyotes work the edges, and saguaro-lined slopes hold javelina and Gambel's quail.

The Dolly Steamboat operates twice-daily nature cruises and seasonal dinner cruises from its dock near the Boulder Recreation Site. It has worked Canyon Lake since the 1980s.

— about the piece in your home

Many of our buyers tie this tile to a long drive on SR 88 or a steamboat trip with family. A Coaster Set or a Small with a handwritten note from the studio carries that memory well.

The cobalt water against rust cliffs reads as Southwestern-modern, Desert-modern, and Earth-tone Maximalist. It also holds its own in a Coastal-modern room where blues already dominate.

Above a sofa, the Large or a 4-tile Mural carries the room. Above a console, the Medium reads well. For a wider statement wall, a 9-tile Mural extends the canyon.

Yes, with the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and rated for vertical installations, splashes, and steam. The Glossy finish is reserved for framed wall pieces away from water.

A soft microfibre cloth with water clears dust and splashes. Skip abrasive pads and ammonia-based sprays. The colour lives in the surface, so daily wiping does not wear it.

Every WenderVista piece is painted in Reid Wender's hand in our Knoxville studio. No licensing, no third-party imagery, no clip art. One studio, one eye, one atlas of places.

— if this one stayed with you

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