Wender·Vista
V-Bar-V petroglyph site
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileArizona
in Beaver Creek canyon south of Sedona

V-Bar-V petroglyph site

— — the rock the sun keeps a calendar on.

— 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 single sandstone panel in the Coconino National Forest, six miles east of the Interstate 17 exit at Beaver Creek. More than a thousand Sinagua petroglyphs cluster on one cliff face above a perennial stream, the largest concentration in the Verde Valley. A handful of figures align with shafts of light on the solstices. Cottonwoods and Arizona ash hold the canyon shade.

from the studio
V-Bar-V petroglyph site
— bring it home

V-Bar-V petroglyph site, 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 V-Bar-V petroglyph site

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 V-Bar-V Heritage Site lies in the Coconino National Forest along Wet Beaver Creek, in Yavapai County, Arizona, about twenty miles south of Sedona via Interstate 17 and Forest Road 618. The petroglyph panel preserves 1,032 individual glyphs pecked into a single Permian-age Schnebly Hill sandstone cliff face, the largest known rock-art site in the Verde Valley. The glyphs were made by the Southern Sinagua between roughly 1150 and 1400 CE. The site takes its name from the V-Bar-V cattle ranch that operated here from the 1880s until federal acquisition in 1994.

— the year

Two elements on the panel function as a solar calendar. On the summer solstice in late June, a shaft of light passes between two boulders above the cliff and crosses a series of glyphs in sequence, marking what researchers identify as the planting calendar of the Southern Sinagua. The progression takes about ninety minutes between roughly nine and ten-thirty in the morning. The Forest Service hosts solstice viewings open to the public on the morning of June 21 each year. Equinox alignments mark planting and harvest checkpoints in March and September.

— the visit

The site is open Friday through Monday from nine-thirty to three-thirty, closed Tuesday through Thursday, with a Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful pass required to park. From the contact station a half-mile mostly level trail leads through cottonwoods along Wet Beaver Creek to the petroglyph wall, where a volunteer interpreter is usually present. Photography is permitted; touching the panel is not. The neighboring Palatki and Honanki Heritage Sites, also Sinagua, lie an hour west across Sedona and book separately by reservation.

— where
United States · Yavapai County, Arizona
— within
Coconino National Forest
— elevation
1,097 m · 3,600 ft
— position
34.6486° N · 111.7150° 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.
32 km N
Sedona
red-rock town
6 km S
Montezuma Well
Sinagua water site
45 km NW
Palatki Heritage Site
Sinagua cliff dwelling
N
V-Bar-V petroglyph site
Sedona
Montezuma Well
Palatki Heritage Site
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about V-Bar-V petroglyph site — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The glyphs were pecked between approximately 1150 and 1400 CE by the Southern Sinagua. The site was used continuously over those 250 years, with the calendar elements aligned to the planting cycle of the Verde Valley floodplain.

A documented 1,032 individual glyphs on a single Schnebly Hill sandstone face, making it the largest petroglyph concentration in the Verde Valley. The figures include anthropomorphs, animal tracks, spirals, and abstract geometric forms.

A series of glyphs that receive shafts of sunlight in a precise sequence on the solstices and equinoxes. On summer-solstice morning the light crosses the panel in about ninety minutes, marking Southern Sinagua planting milestones.

The Southern Sinagua, related to the builders of Tuzigoot, Montezuma Castle, and Wupatki. They farmed corn, beans, and squash along Beaver Creek and traded shell and macaw feathers with Hohokam and Mesoamerican networks to the south.

Take Interstate 17 to exit 298 at Beaver Creek, then Forest Road 618 east about three miles to the contact station. The site lies six miles total from the freeway. A Red Rock Pass is required for parking.

— about the piece in your home

It reads well for that recipient. V-Bar-V is one of the defining quiet places south of Sedona. A Medium with a handwritten studio note carries the cultural specificity better than a more generic red-rock view.

The warm Schnebly Hill sandstone palette sits in Southwest Modern, Earth-tone Minimalist, and Desert-modern interiors. It reads well against cream plaster, oak, and rooms with woven jute or wool textiles.

Yes. The shift toward archaeological and rock-art source material is one of the strongest currents in the current Desert-modern movement. The petroglyph imagery reads as cultural rather than scenic.

A single Large above a console or chair. A 4-tile Mural above a standard sofa. A 9-tile Mural for a feature wall in a great room or a tall entryway.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte. Both are scratch-resistant and humidity-tolerant. The glossy finish is best on dry interior walls.

A soft microfibre cloth and water. No abrasives, no ammonia, no acid cleaners. The colour lives in the surface beneath a thin protective layer.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in-house by Reid Wender. No imagery is licensed, and each place composition is original to the studio.

— if this one stayed with you

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