Wender·Vista
Mount Mitchell
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States
in the Black Mountains of western North Carolina, above the Blue Ridge Parkway

Mount Mitchell

— — the highest ground east of the Mississippi.

— 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

“At 6,684 feet, Mitchell is the high point of the Black Mountains and the eastern half of the country. The summit is a short walk from the parking lot at the end of NC 128, off the Blue Ridge Parkway. The trees at the top are dying. Fraser firs hit by an invasive adelgid since the 1960s. The view, when the clouds let it through, runs to four states.

from the studio
Mount Mitchell
— bring it home

Mount Mitchell, 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 Mount Mitchell

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

Mount Mitchell stands 6,684 feet above sea level in the Black Mountains of Yancey County, North Carolina, the highest peak in the eastern United States. It is the centre of Mount Mitchell State Park, the first state park in North Carolina, established in 1915 after extensive clear-cut logging on the surrounding ridges. The summit is reached by a short trail from the parking area at the end of NC Highway 128, which leaves the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 355. A stone observation tower stands on top, replacing an older concrete-and-stone tower demolished in 2006 and rebuilt in 2009.

— informed by Wikipedia, NC State Parks
— the air

The summit climate is closer to Quebec than to the rest of North Carolina. Average July high is about 65°F, January high is barely 32°F, and the record low is minus 34°F, set on 21 January 1985. The forest above 6,000 feet is a spruce-fir community (red spruce and Fraser fir) that survives nowhere south of southern Virginia. Since the 1960s the balsam woolly adelgid, an invasive insect from Europe, has killed most of the mature Fraser firs at the top. Annual precipitation here exceeds 70 inches, much of it as rime ice in winter.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the visit

Mount Mitchell State Park is open every day of the year, though the road to the summit closes intermittently in winter snow and ice, typically from December through March. Entry to the park is free. The Old Mitchell Trail and the longer Deep Gap Trail leave the summit area for those who want a walk past the parking lot. Elisha Mitchell, the University of North Carolina professor for whom the peak is named, is buried under a cairn near the tower. He died in 1857 after a fall while re-verifying the summit's elevation against a rival claim by Thomas Clingman.

— informed by NC State Parks
— where
United States · Yancey County, North Carolina
— within
Mount Mitchell State Park
— elevation
2,037 m · 6,684 ft
— position
35.7649° N · 82.2652° 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.
4 km S
Blue Ridge Parkway
scenic parkway
1.5 km NE
Mount Craig
second-highest peak in the eastern US
56 km SW
Asheville
mountain city
at the lake
Black Mountain Crest Trail
ridge trail
N
Mount Mitchell
Blue Ridge Parkway
Mount Craig
Asheville
Black Mountain Crest Trail
— common questions

What people ask.

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

6,684 feet, or 2,037 metres, above sea level. It is the highest point in the eastern United States, higher than any peak east of the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Elisha Mitchell, a University of North Carolina professor who first measured the peak in 1835. He died nearby in 1857 after a fall while re-verifying the elevation, and is buried under a cairn at the summit.

By car, via NC Highway 128, which leaves the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 355 about 35 miles northeast of Asheville. The summit is a short paved walk from the parking lot, with a stone observation tower at the top.

The summit holds a southern outlier of spruce-fir forest. Since the 1960s the balsam woolly adelgid, an invasive insect from Europe, has killed most of the mature Fraser firs. Acid deposition and warming temperatures have compounded the decline.

Considerably. The summit averages about 20°F colder than Asheville across the seasons. The lowest temperature ever recorded in North Carolina, minus 34°F, was set on Mount Mitchell on 21 January 1985.

In 1915, making it the first state park in North Carolina. The legislature acted in response to extensive clear-cut logging on the surrounding ridges in the early 20th century.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. Mitchell is the high point of the Eastern hiker's map, and for someone with ties to Asheville or the Parkway it lands. A Medium with a note from the studio works, and the Keepsake fits a desk.

The dark spruce-greens and slate-blues sit well with mountain-modern interiors, dark-academia studies, and rooms built around oak, leather, wool, and warm metals.

Yes. The cool palette and the sense of altitude sit naturally next to the timber, stone, and oxidised steel that define the current mountain-modern direction across the Carolinas and Colorado.

A single Large reads well above a console. Above a sofa, a four-tile Mural carries the wall, and a nine-tile Mural suits a long wall or a great-room fireplace.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both resist steam and scratching. Reserve the Glossy finish for dry rooms and framed display.

A soft microfibre cloth with plain water. No solvents, no abrasive pads. The colour lives in the surface and will not lift.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is composed and finished in our Knoxville studio, less than 100 miles south of the mountain. The work is not licensed from any other source.

— if this one stayed with you

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