Wender·Vista
Minneapolis
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States
on the Mississippi, where the river falls at St. Anthony

Minneapolis

— a city built on the only waterfall the river makes.

— 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

“The Mississippi runs through Minneapolis the way a spine runs through a body. At St. Anthony Falls the river drops and the old flour mills lean over the water, the Stone Arch Bridge curving across in pale limestone. West of downtown the Chain of Lakes holds canoes in summer and skaters in winter. The Walker sits above it all, the Spoonbridge cherry holding red against November sky.

from the studio
Minneapolis
— bring it home

Minneapolis, 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 Minneapolis

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

Minneapolis sits on the west bank of the upper Mississippi River in Hennepin County, Minnesota, joined to its twin Saint Paul to form the metropolitan core of the Upper Midwest. The city holds roughly 430,000 residents within 145 square kilometres. St. Anthony Falls, the only natural waterfall on the entire Mississippi, powered the flour mills that built the city in the 1870s and 1880s — Pillsbury and General Mills both began on these banks. The Chain of Lakes lies a kilometre west of downtown.

— the water

The city is laid over water. St. Anthony Falls drops about 15 metres in a stepped cascade and concrete apron; the Stone Arch Bridge, opened in 1883 for James J. Hill's Great Northern Railway, crosses just downstream in twenty-three limestone arches. West of the river the Chain of Lakes — Bde Maka Ska, Lake of the Isles, Lake Harriet, Cedar — connect through dredged channels paddled by canoe in summer. Minnehaha Creek runs south and falls 16 metres at Minnehaha Park.

— informed by Minneapolis Park Board
— the season

The city lives by the calendar. From mid-November through March the lakes freeze hard enough for plowed skating loops at Lake of the Isles and pond-hockey rinks at Lake Nokomis; the Saint Paul Winter Carnival, running since 1886, anchors late January. May through September brings the canoe season and the Tuesday-night sailing fleet on Lake Harriet. October colour holds along the river bluffs for about ten days, usually in the second week.

— informed by Minneapolis Park Board
— where
United States · Minneapolis, Minnesota
— elevation
264 m · 866 ft
— position
44.9778° N · 93.2650° 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.
16 km E
Saint Paul
twin city
8 km S
Minnehaha Falls
waterfall park
5 km SW
Lake Harriet
lake and bandshell
12 km S
Fort Snelling
historic fort
N
Minneapolis
Saint Paul
Minnehaha Falls
Lake Harriet
Fort Snelling
— common questions

What people ask.

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

On the west bank of the upper Mississippi River in Hennepin County, Minnesota, paired with Saint Paul as the Twin Cities. It is the largest city in Minnesota with around 430,000 residents.

The only natural waterfall on the Mississippi River. It drops about 15 metres in downtown Minneapolis and powered the flour mills that made the city the milling capital of the world from 1880 to 1930.

A 640-metre limestone railway bridge built in 1883 for James J. Hill's Great Northern Railway. It crosses the Mississippi just below St. Anthony Falls and now serves pedestrians and cyclists.

A connected system of lakes west of downtown — Bde Maka Ska, Lake of the Isles, Lake Harriet, Cedar, Brownie — linked by dredged channels and a continuous shoreline trail of about 22 kilometres.

Most years the lakes carry safe ice from mid-December through early March. The Park Board plows skating loops at Lake of the Isles and maintains pond-hockey rinks at Lake Nokomis through the cold months.

A 1988 sculpture by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden at the Walker Art Center. The spoon is 16 metres long and the cherry holds a working fountain.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well for people who moved away and still call it home, for graduates of the U, and for anyone whose summer means a Lake Harriet bandshell concert. A Small with a handwritten studio note travels easily.

It sits naturally in Scandinavian-modern interiors, in Mid-century rooms in walnut and wool, and in Industrial-loft spaces where the limestone palette of the artwork echoes brick and steel.

Yes. Scandinavian-modern has warmed past its early monochrome — the current direction adds river-pale blues and limestone neutrals against pale oak. The piece sits inside that palette without leaning literal or touristic.

A single Large reads from across the room above a console. Above a standard sofa, a 4-tile Mural carries the wall; for a longer wall, a 9-tile Mural holds the full sweep.

Yes — order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for any room with moisture or steam. Both are scratch-resistant and read softer than the Glossy, which is meant for framed dry-wall display.

A dry or barely damp microfibre cloth. The colour lives in the ceramic surface beneath a thin glossy finish, so no chemical cleaners are needed and abrasive pads are not recommended.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is curated and finished in our Knoxville studio. We do not licence the work and the same image does not appear under any other brand.

— 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.