Wender·Vista
Marble Canyon
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileArizona
where the Colorado River turns south and begins the Grand Canyon

Marble Canyon

— — the first cut of the river into the rock.

— 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 opening chapter of the Grand Canyon, where the Colorado River drops south out of Glen Canyon and begins to carve. The walls are Kaibab and Coconino sandstone, vermilion in the late sun. Navajo Bridge spans the gorge 467 feet above the water. River trips put in just upstream at Lees Ferry, the last point a vehicle can reach the river for nearly 300 miles.

from the studio
Marble Canyon
— bring it home

Marble Canyon, 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 Marble Canyon

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

Marble Canyon is the 61-mile reach of the Colorado River between Lees Ferry and the Little Colorado confluence, where geologists mark the start of the Grand Canyon proper. The walls rise from river level through layers of Kaibab limestone, Coconino sandstone, and Hermit shale. The canyon was named by John Wesley Powell during his 1869 expedition for the polished limestone in its lower walls, though no true marble is present.

— the stone

The Navajo Bridge crossing is the visual anchor of the canyon. The original steel arch was completed in 1929 at 467 feet above the river and was the highest steel arch bridge in the world at the time. A second, wider bridge opened alongside it in 1995 to carry US Route 89A; the older bridge now serves pedestrians. California condors, reintroduced to the region in 1996, often roost on the steel girders.

— informed by NPS, Navajo Bridge
— the water

The river here runs clear and cold, released from the base of Glen Canyon Dam fifteen miles upstream at a steady 47 degrees Fahrenheit. Lees Ferry, at the head of the canyon, is the put-in for almost every commercial and private rafting trip through the Grand Canyon and the last point a vehicle reaches the Colorado for 280 river miles. The trout fishery below the dam is one of the best in the Southwest.

— informed by NPS, Lees Ferry
— where
United States · Coconino County, Arizona
— within
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Grand Canyon National Park
— elevation
968 m · 3,175 ft
— position
36.8158° N · 111.6300° 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.
8 km N
Lees Ferry
river put-in
0.1 km N
Navajo Bridge
historic bridge
20 km NW
Vermilion Cliffs
national monument
N
Marble Canyon
Lees Ferry
Navajo Bridge
Vermilion Cliffs
— common questions

What people ask.

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

It runs 61 miles down the Colorado River from Lees Ferry to the confluence with the Little Colorado River. Geologists treat the confluence as the boundary between Marble Canyon and the Grand Canyon proper, though both lie within Grand Canyon National Park.

John Wesley Powell named it in 1869 after the polished limestone in the lower walls, which he thought resembled marble. The rock is actually Redwall Limestone, smoothed by the river but never metamorphosed into true marble.

About 467 feet. The original 1929 steel arch was the highest steel arch bridge in the world at the time of its completion. A wider companion bridge opened in 1995 and now carries US Route 89A; the original is a pedestrian crossing.

Yes. California condors were reintroduced to the Vermilion Cliffs in 1996 and routinely roost on the steel girders of Navajo Bridge. They are most often seen in late morning when they catch the thermals rising off the gorge.

The put-in for almost every Colorado River trip through the Grand Canyon, plus a tailwater trout fishery, a small NPS ranger station, and the historic Lonely Dell Ranch. It is the last point a vehicle can reach the river for the next 280 miles.

— about the piece in your home

Often it is. Lees Ferry and Navajo Bridge are the gate every river trip passes through, and the piece reads as the first morning on the water. A Medium or Large carries well on a study wall.

The vermilion and slate-blue tones sit well with desert-modern, southwestern, and warm rustic rooms. The colour cross-references leather, oak, terracotta, and Navajo-influenced textiles.

A single Large carries a six-foot sofa. Above an eight-foot sofa, a four-tile Mural opens the gorge across the wall; for a feature wall, a nine-tile Mural sets the canyon at room scale.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and stand up to steam and humidity, which suits backsplashes, shower surrounds, and powder rooms.

A soft microfibre cloth and clean water. No solvents, no abrasive pads. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure and lives in the surface itself.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in the studio's own visual language by Reid Wender and finished in Knoxville, Tennessee. Nothing is licensed from another source and the work is sold only through Wender Studios.

— 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.