Wender·Vista
Deer Island
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States
in Boston Harbor, off Winthrop, Massachusetts

Deer Island

— — a harbor walk that ends at the open water.

— 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 185-acre peninsula at the mouth of Boston Harbor, joined to Winthrop by a low causeway. The walking loop runs five miles along the seawall, with the city skyline behind you and the outer islands ahead. Twelve white egg-shaped digesters rise above the treatment plant on the inland side. Cormorants sit on the riprap. The wind off Massachusetts Bay carries salt and the long grey distance. from the studio

from the studio
Deer Island
— bring it home

Deer Island, 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 Deer Island

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

Deer Island sits at the mouth of Boston Harbor off the town of Winthrop, Massachusetts, about seven kilometres east of downtown Boston. A 1938 hurricane closed the narrow channel that had once separated it from the mainland, so the 185-acre headland is now reached on foot or by car across a low causeway. Sixty acres of public parkland wrap the perimeter, managed jointly by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority and the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. The remaining acreage holds the wastewater treatment plant that serves 43 communities in the metropolitan region.

— the air

The headland is one of the most exposed places in the inner harbor; wind off Massachusetts Bay runs unbroken across the seawall. The five-mile perimeter trail traces the high stone riprap that armours the island, with views east to the outer Brewster Islands and Boston Light, the oldest continuously used lighthouse station in the country, founded in 1716. Cormorants nest on the rocks; harbor seals haul out on the bar at low tide in winter. The city skyline sits behind you for the western half of the loop.

— informed by National Park Service
— the visit

The park is open daily from sunrise to sunset, free of charge, with a small parking area off Tafts Avenue at the causeway end. The five-mile loop trail is paved and mostly level, so the full walk takes about two hours at an easy pace. The twelve egg-shaped digesters of the treatment plant, each 45 metres tall, are visible from most of the loop and have become an unofficial landmark of the eastern Boston skyline. Bring water and a windbreak; there are no concessions and little shade.

— informed by National Park Service
— where
United States · Suffolk County, Massachusetts
— within
Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
— position
42.3486° N · 70.9586° 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.
1 km W
Winthrop
town
5 km E
Boston Light, Little Brewster
lighthouse
7 km W
Downtown Boston
city
N
Deer Island
Winthrop
Boston Light, Little Brewster
Downtown Boston
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Deer Island — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Not since 1938. A hurricane closed the narrow channel between Deer Island and Winthrop, and the gap has been filled ever since. The headland is reached by causeway.

Yes. Sixty acres of the 185-acre headland are open as a public park, free, sunrise to sunset. A five-mile paved loop trail circles the perimeter along the seawall.

They are the sludge digesters of the Deer Island wastewater treatment plant, each 45 metres tall. The plant serves 43 Boston-area communities and is one of the largest in the United States.

Early colonists reported that native deer swam across Shirley Gut from the mainland to escape predators. The name predates 1675 and survives in maps from the earliest harbor surveys.

Boston Light on Little Brewster Island, the outer Brewster chain, the downtown Boston skyline, and Logan Airport's runways across the inner harbor. On a clear day the view reaches to Hull and Nantasket.

Yes. The island held a Native American internment camp during King Philip's War, an immigrant quarantine station in the 19th century, and a prison until 1991. Memorials mark several sites along the loop.

— about the piece in your home

Deer Island is a familiar walk for North Shore and harbor-side residents. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note carries well for someone who left Boston, or whose family did.

The grey-blue water and white architecture read well in Coastal-modern, New England-traditional, and Maritime-minimalist rooms. It also works against warm brick or weathered wood.

Coastal-modern has been moving away from beige toward cooler North Atlantic palettes. The tile lands in that quieter direction, closer to a working harbor than a beach.

A single Large covers most sofas. A 4-tile Mural reads as one painting across a longer wall; a 9-tile Mural anchors a console or a wide hearth.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both resist scratching and standing moisture and clean with microfibre and water.

A soft microfibre cloth with water is enough. No solvents, no abrasive pads. The colour lives in the surface and will not fade in normal interior light.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is made in our Knoxville studio, from Reid's own painting, with no third-party licensing. Each tile is hand-finished before it ships.

— 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.