Wender·Vista
biggest ball of twine
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileMinnesota · United States
on the main street of Darwin, in central Minnesota

biggest ball of twine

— — thirty-nine winters wound into one bright sphere.

— 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 twelve-foot ball of binder twine under a glass gazebo on the main street of Darwin, Minnesota. Francis A. Johnson rolled it himself from 1950 until 1989, four hours a day, every day, until it weighed close to nine tons. It is the largest ball of twine wound by one person on record. The town of three hundred and fifty people throws it a birthday in August.

from the studio
biggest ball of twine
— bring it home

biggest ball of twine, 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 biggest ball of twine

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

Darwin is a small city in Meeker County, central Minnesota, about 65 miles west of Minneapolis along U.S. Route 12. The 2020 census counted 350 residents. The town's defining landmark sits at the corner of Main Street under a clear gazebo: a twelve-foot ball of sisal binder twine wound by farmer Francis A. Johnson between 1950 and 1989. It weighs roughly 17,400 pounds and measures forty feet around. Johnson worked on it four hours a day for thirty-nine years.

— the visit

The gazebo stands open day and night on Main Street, free to visit, with a small museum across the road that opens during summer hours. The town leans into the landmark: Twine Ball Inn next door, Twine Ball Days each August, a Weird Al Yankovic song from 1989 in regular rotation. Two competing claims exist, in Cawker City, Kansas and Branson, Missouri, but Darwin holds the record for the largest ball wound by a single person rather than a community.

— the year

Twine Ball Day falls on the second Saturday of August every year and pulls a few thousand people into a town of 350. There is a parade down Main Street, a polka band, a 5K, and a coronation of Miss Twine Ball. Francis Johnson started the ball in March 1950 in his barn and moved it outside in 1979 when it would no longer fit through the door. He died in 1989; the town built the gazebo the same year.

— where
United States · Darwin, Meeker County, Minnesota
— position
45.0961° N · 94.4108° 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.
11 km W
Litchfield
county seat
4 km S
Lake Minnewashta
lake
N
biggest ball of twine
Litchfield
Lake Minnewashta
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about biggest ball of twine — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Francis A. Johnson, a farmer in Darwin, Minnesota, started winding the ball in March 1950 and worked on it four hours a day for thirty-nine years. He died in 1989, and the town built a gazebo around it the same year.

The Darwin ball is twelve feet in diameter, forty feet around, and weighs roughly 17,400 pounds. It is the largest ball of twine wound by a single person on record.

Darwin sits in Meeker County, central Minnesota, about 65 miles west of Minneapolis along U.S. Route 12. The 2020 census counted 350 residents.

Yes. Cawker City, Kansas holds the record for the largest by community contribution. Branson, Missouri has a third. Darwin's distinction is single-person construction.

Yes, year round and free. The ball sits in a clear gazebo on Main Street in Darwin, visible at any hour. A small museum across the street opens during summer hours.

The second Saturday of August every year. The town hosts a parade down Main Street, a polka band, a 5K, and the coronation of Miss Twine Ball.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The twine ball is folk Minnesota of the friendliest kind, and people from the state recognise it immediately. A Coaster or Small with a handwritten note carries well as a small Christmas or going-away gift.

It fits Americana kitchens with painted cabinets, midwestern farmhouse interiors, and roadside-curio collections with vintage signs. The warm colour palette sits well against white walls and butcher block.

It runs with the current roadside-Americana revival covered in Country Living and Garden and Gun. Folk monuments and small-town landmarks are back in framed wall art and dish towels alike.

A Large fits a standard 72-inch sofa in a den or rec room. A 4-tile Mural carries a wider wall. For a small kitchen or breakfast nook, a single Medium reads better than a Mural.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for kitchens, bathrooms, and showers. Both are scratch-resistant and steam-tolerant. The Glossy finish is for framed wall art in dry rooms.

A dry microfibre cloth for dust, a damp one for anything more. No solvents and no abrasive pads. The colour lives in the surface, so cleaning does not affect it.

Yes. Reid Wender paints every piece in our atlas. We do not license images and do not reproduce other artists' work. Each vista is original to the studio.

— 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.