shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States

in the western Aleutians, far past Adak

Kiska

Name: Kiska — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— — the island the war forgot to take back.

— 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 volcanic island in the western Aleutians, uninhabited since the Second World War. Kiska was held by a Japanese garrison from June 1942 until they slipped away in fog one August night in 1943. The Americans came ashore the next morning and found only rusting guns and a dog. The cone still smokes a little. The fog still comes in fast. Nobody lives here now except the auklets. — from the studio

from the studio

— bring it home

Kiska, 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 Kiska

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

Kiska is a volcanic island near the western end of the Aleutian chain, roughly 22 miles long, lying about 1,400 miles west-southwest of Anchorage. It belongs to the Rat Islands group and falls inside the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The dominant feature is Kiska Volcano, a stratovolcano rising to about 1,220 metres at the north end of the island, with intermittent activity recorded into the modern era. The island is uninhabited and reached only by boat or charter aircraft for research permits.

— informed by Alaska Maritime NWR — US Fish & Wildlife Service, Wikipedia — Kiska

— the silence

Almost nothing on Kiska is sound made by people. The garrison left in July 1943; the Allied landing on 15 August 1943 found the island already empty. What remains is one of the largest seabird colonies in the northern hemisphere, with millions of least auklets and crested auklets nesting in the talus slopes below Sirius Point. The wind comes off the Bering Sea, the fog stays for days, and rusted Japanese gun emplacements sit where they were last fired.

— informed by National Park Service — Aleutian Campaign, Wikipedia — Battle of Kiska

— the visit

There is no visitor access in any ordinary sense. Kiska lies inside a National Wildlife Refuge and a designated Wilderness, and the entire island is a National Historic Landmark for its Second World War archaeology, listed in 1985. Reaching it requires a long ocean crossing from Adak, the nearest community with scheduled flights, and special-use permits from the Refuge. The handful of people who set foot here in any given year are biologists, archaeologists, and the occasional small-ship expedition.

— informed by National Historic Landmarks — Kiska, Alaska Maritime NWR — Visiting

— where

United States · Aleutians West, Alaska

— within

Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge

— elevation

1,220 m · 4,003 ft

— position

51.9700° N · 177.4600° E

— 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.

3 km SE

Little Kiska Island

neighbouring island

20 km E

Segula Island

volcanic island

380 km E

Adak

nearest community

Kiska

Little Kiska Island

Segula Island

Adak

— common questions

What people ask.

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

— about the place

Kiska is a volcanic island in the Rat Islands group of the western Aleutians, about 1,400 miles west-southwest of Anchorage. It lies inside the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.

No. The island has been uninhabited since the Second World War. The only regular visitors are seabird biologists working short summer seasons under Refuge permit.

A Japanese garrison occupied the island in June 1942 and evacuated under fog on 28 July 1943. American and Canadian forces landed on 15 August 1943 and found the island already empty.

Yes. Kiska Volcano is a stratovolcano reaching about 1,220 metres, with eruptive activity recorded into the modern era. It is monitored by the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

Sirius Point at the north end holds one of the largest auklet colonies in the northern hemisphere, with several million least and crested auklets nesting in the volcanic talus each summer.

Not casually. The island is a Wilderness inside a National Wildlife Refuge and a National Historic Landmark. Access requires a permit and a long charter from Adak, the nearest airfield.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. Kiska holds a particular place in Aleutian Campaign memory. A Small or Medium with a note about the August 1943 landing reads well for a veteran, a historian, or a family with Coast Guard or Navy ties to the chain.

The palette runs cold green, fog grey, and rusted iron. It sits well with mountain-modern interiors, dark-walled libraries, and rooms that already carry maritime or military history pieces.

It fits the quiet end of mountain-modern and the current interest in remote-place art. The cold palette also reads well in jewel-tone maximalist rooms as a grounding piece.

Above a sofa, a single Large reads well alone; a 4-tile Mural carries a wider wall. Above a console, a Medium or a 9-tile Mural grouped tightly works for a longer room.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and built for vertical installation in damp rooms. The Glossy finish is for framed wall art in dry spaces.

Microfibre cloth, warm water, no abrasives and no ammonia. The colour is infused into the ceramic surface so it does not lift with normal cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is made in our Knoxville studio. We do not license or resell other studios' work.

— if this one stayed with you