shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileArizona

across northeastern Arizona, from the Little Colorado to Petrified Forest

Painted Desert

— — a country dyed by time.

— 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

“A 160-mile arc of badlands east of the Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert holds some of the most heavily banded Triassic sediments in North America. Iron and clay give it the colour. Wind keeps it bare. The Navajo Nation covers most of it, with the southern end protected inside Petrified Forest National Park.

from the studio

— bring it home

Painted Desert, 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 Painted Desert

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

The Painted Desert is a roughly 160-mile arc of Chinle Formation badlands in northeastern Arizona, sweeping from near Cameron and the eastern rim of the Grand Canyon southeast through the Little Colorado River basin to the northern end of Petrified Forest National Park. Most of the desert lies inside the Navajo Nation. The protected southern stretch is the easiest to visit, reached from Interstate 40 at Holbrook. Elevations across the basin run from about 4,500 to 6,500 feet.

— informed by Wikipedia, National Park Service

— the colour

The colour comes from the Chinle Formation, laid down in the late Triassic about 220 million years ago when this country was a humid floodplain east of a rising mountain arc. Iron oxides give the reds and pinks. Manganese darkens the lavenders and slate-blues. The bands are clay-rich and erode quickly, which keeps the surface raw and exposed. Petrified wood weathered out of the same formation is what gave Petrified Forest its name. The palette shifts hour to hour, and most strongly in the hour before sunset.

— informed by USGS

— the silence

The Painted Desert holds very few towns. Cameron, Tuba City, and Holbrook anchor the corners; between them, US 89 and Indian Route 6 cross long stretches without services. The Little Colorado runs intermittently along the western edge. The Hopi mesas rise to the south. Most of the basin sits inside the Navajo Nation, and visitors are expected to stay on marked roads and pullouts. The protected southern stretch in Petrified Forest National Park has the only paved scenic loop. The rest is wind, sandstone, and the railroad line east.

— informed by Navajo Nation Parks

— where

United States · Northeastern Arizona

— position

35.5000° N · 110.0000° 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.

at the lake

Petrified Forest National Park

national park

200 km NW

Cameron

town

50 km S

Holbrook

town

Painted Desert

Petrified Forest National Park

Cameron

Holbrook

— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Painted Desert — and about bringing the piece home.

— about the place

In northeastern Arizona, between the eastern Grand Canyon near Cameron and the northern end of Petrified Forest National Park near Holbrook. It covers roughly 7,500 square miles.

The Chinle Formation badlands hold bands of red, pink, lavender, and slate from iron oxides and manganese in clay-rich Triassic sediments. The colour reads like dyed cloth from a distance.

Most of the Painted Desert lies within the Navajo Nation. The southern end is protected as part of Petrified Forest National Park, administered by the National Park Service.

The Chinle Formation dates to the late Triassic, roughly 220 million years ago, when the region was a humid river floodplain east of a rising mountain chain.

Petrified Forest National Park, off Interstate 40 at Holbrook, has the only paved scenic loop. The Painted Desert Inn at Kachina Point is the standard overlook.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for customers with roots in northern Arizona or the Navajo Nation. A Medium reads well in a study; a Large carries the desert's horizon.

The piece works in Southwestern, desert-modern, and warm Minimalist rooms. Its iron-red and lavender palette sits with leather, oak, plaster, and against pale walls without crowding.

A single Large fills a standard sofa wall. A 4-tile Mural opens the view; a 9-tile Mural reads as a horizon and anchors a long room.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both resist scratching and handle steam. The Glossy finish is for framed wall art kept away from direct water.

A soft microfibre cloth with water. No solvents, no abrasives. The colour is held in the ceramic surface and does not wear with normal cleaning.

— if this one stayed with you