Wender·Vista
Mazatzal Peak
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileArizona
in the Mazatzal Wilderness, north of Phoenix

Mazatzal Peak

— the long blue ridge that holds the Verde.

— 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 high peak of the Mazatzal Range, a long blue wall between the Verde River and Tonto Creek. The summit climbs to 7,903 feet, the highest ground for a long way in either direction. The country below is saguaro and juniper; the upper slopes carry ponderosa pine. A wilderness mountain. No road touches the top.

from the studio
Mazatzal Peak
— bring it home

Mazatzal Peak, 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 Mazatzal Peak

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

Mazatzal Peak rises to 7,903 feet (2,409 m) in the Mazatzal Mountains of central Arizona, the highest point in a long, north-trending range that separates the Verde River from Tonto Creek. The summit lies inside the Mazatzal Wilderness, a 252,500-acre Forest Service area within Tonto National Forest, about 25 miles northwest of Payson. No road reaches the peak; the standard approach climbs from the Barnhardt Trailhead on the east side, gaining roughly 4,000 feet over several miles to the summit ridge.

— the air

At 7,903 feet the air carries a different range than the desert below. Lower slopes belong to saguaro and palo verde at around 3,000 feet; the summit holds ponderosa pine, douglas fir, and patches of aspen. The 2004 Willow Fire burned across much of the range, and the regrowth is still visible on the lower switchbacks. Spring and fall are the months the air settles; summer thunderheads build by early afternoon on the western slope.

— the silence

The Mazatzal Wilderness is one of Arizona's oldest, designated in 1964 with the original Wilderness Act, and large enough that a hiker can walk for two days without crossing a trail used the same week. Cell coverage drops within a mile of the trailheads. The Arizona Trail crosses the range on its way north toward the Mogollon Rim. The peak's east face holds late snow into April, and the silence at the summit is the kind that takes effort to reach.

— informed by Wilderness.net
— where
United States · Gila County, Arizona
— within
Mazatzal Wilderness, Tonto National Forest
— elevation
2,409 m · 7,903 ft
— 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.
40 km S
Four Peaks
wilderness range
40 km E
Payson
town
25 km W
Verde River
river
65 km N
Mogollon Rim
escarpment
N
Mazatzal Peak
Four Peaks
Payson
Verde River
Mogollon Rim
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Mazatzal Peak rises to 7,903 feet (2,409 m), the highest summit in the Mazatzal Mountains and the high point of the Mazatzal Wilderness in central Arizona's Tonto National Forest.

Locally the peak is said 'mat-uh-ZAL' or 'mah-zaht-ZAL.' The name comes from a Nahuatl word carried north from Mexico; it appears on Spanish-era maps as the range between the Verde River and Tonto Creek.

The standard route climbs from the Barnhardt Trailhead off Arizona 87 north of Rye, gaining roughly 4,000 feet to the summit ridge. The full trip is a long day or an overnight; no road touches the peak.

Lower slopes are saguaro and palo verde; the upper mountain carries ponderosa pine, douglas fir, and aspen. Black bear, mountain lion, and elk all range the wilderness. The 2004 Willow Fire reshaped the lower forest.

Spring and fall are the settled months. Winter snow can linger on the east face into April. Summer afternoons bring thunderstorms by 1 or 2 p.m. on the western slope; start early or wait the storm out.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The peak is the long blue ridge anyone who walks the Arizona Trail through this section carries with them. A Medium or Large works as a sitting-room piece; a Keepsake travels well as a card-and-gift pairing.

The blues and ponderosa greens read well against Southwest, desert-modern, and Mountain-modern interiors. The stained-glass treatment also sits comfortably in a Jewel-tone Maximalist room without competing with other patterned work.

A single Large carries above a standard sofa; a 4-tile Mural fills a console wall; a 9-tile Mural reads as the feature on a longer wall. For a console, a Medium with two Coasters is quieter.

Yes. Order the same artwork in Dura Satin or Matte for vertical kitchen or bathroom installations. The colour lives in the ceramic surface, so steam and splash will not affect it.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in the studio's stained-glass and alcohol-ink visual language and slowly infused into the ceramic under heat and pressure. No licensing, no third-party prints.

— 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.