Wender·Vista
Ford Island
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States
in the middle of Pearl Harbor, on the south side of Oʻahu

Ford Island

— — the harbour the morning after.

— 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

“An island inside a harbour, ringed by the wrecks and memorials of 7 December 1941. The USS Arizona rests off the southeast shore. The control tower above the old seaplane base still stands. The Pacific Aviation Museum runs out of two of the hangars that took shrapnel that morning. Quiet most days. Loud once a year, in memory. — from the studio

from the studio
Ford Island
— bring it home

Ford 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 Ford 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

Ford Island, known in Hawaiian as Poka ʻAilana, is a roughly 441-acre island in the centre of Pearl Harbor on the southern coast of Oʻahu, in Honolulu County. It has been a U.S. Navy installation since 1917 and remains active naval land today, reached by the Ford Island Bridge from Halawa. The island holds Naval Air Station Ford Island's old runway, the USS Arizona Memorial off its southeast shore, the USS Missouri at the northern end, and the Pacific Aviation Museum in two surviving wartime hangars. Active-duty housing covers the interior.

— the air

The control tower above the old seaplane base, finished in 1942, is the visual signature of the island. It stood through the attack of 7 December 1941 and through every Pacific deployment that followed. Two hangars on the airfield, 37 and 79, still carry the bullet and shrapnel scars from that morning and now house the Pacific Aviation Museum's restored aircraft. The runway has not flown active sorties in decades. Trade winds run east-northeast across the harbour for most of the year; the air over the airfield is salt-heavy and warm.

— the visit

Public access is by guided tour only. The USS Arizona Memorial is reached by Navy shuttle from the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center on Halawa and is free, with timed-entry tickets booked through recreation.gov for a $1 reservation fee. The USS Missouri and the Pacific Aviation Museum are paid attractions on the island itself, accessed by a separate shuttle from the visitor center. The visitor center opens at 07:00 and closes at 17:00 daily. Independent driving onto Ford Island is restricted to those with military ID.

— where
United States · Honolulu County, Oʻahu
— within
Pearl Harbor National Memorial
— position
21.3622° N · 157.9608° 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
USS Arizona Memorial
memorial
1 km N
USS Missouri
museum ship
13 km E
Honolulu
capital city
19 km E
Diamond Head
volcanic crater
N
Ford Island
USS Arizona Memorial
USS Missouri
Honolulu
Diamond Head
— common questions

What people ask.

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

In the middle of Pearl Harbor on the southern coast of Oʻahu, Hawaii. It covers roughly 441 acres and is reached from the mainland by the Ford Island Bridge, opened in 1998, from Halawa.

Yes. It remains U.S. Navy property and includes active-duty family housing, the old Naval Air Station airfield, and several Navy commands. Public access is by guided tour or military ID only.

The island sat at the centre of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Battleship Row, on its southeast side, took the heaviest hits. The USS Arizona was struck and sank with 1,177 sailors and marines still aboard.

The USS Arizona Memorial off the southeast shore, the battleship USS Missouri at the northern end, and the Pacific Aviation Museum in two surviving 1941 hangars. The old control tower is visible from each.

By free Navy shuttle from the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center on the Halawa side of the harbour. Timed-entry tickets are booked on recreation.gov; the reservation fee is $1 per person.

Daily from 07:00 to 17:00, closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Programs to the Arizona Memorial run from 08:00 to 15:00. Bags are not allowed; storage is on site.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for many of our customers with ties to the Pacific Fleet. The tile reads as the harbour the morning after, not as memorabilia. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note carries well.

The blues and greys of the harbour sit well in coastal-modern interiors, traditional studies, and the kind of veteran's home that pairs framed flags with painterly art. Reads better above a desk than over a sofa.

Coastal interiors are moving away from beach scenes toward harbour and naval imagery. This tile fits that shift: a place-anchored, historically weighted image rather than a sunset palm.

Above a console or a desk, a single Large at 16x20 reads well. Above a sofa, step up to a 4-tile Mural; a 9-tile Mural is the right scale for a tall foyer or staircase wall.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin finish for a soft sheen that resists scratches and steam, or the Matte finish for no sheen at all. Both handle humidity and daily wiping.

A dry microfibre cloth for dust; a microfibre dampened with water for anything stubborn. No solvents, no abrasive cleaners, no scouring pads. The colour lives in the surface and will not lift.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is made by our single studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. We do not licence the art and do not sell it through third parties.

— 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.