shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileNew York

in the eastern Catskills, west of Kingston

Ashokan Reservoir spillway

Name: Ashokan Reservoir spillway — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— — the bowl the mountains pour their quiet into.

— 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

“The spillway sits at the foot of the Olive Bridge Dam, where the Esopus Creek is held back into a twelve-mile sheet of water that the city of New York drinks from. The weir bridge along the old Ashokan Promenade is a long straight line across the surface. On still mornings the reflection of Wittenberg and Cornell holds the second sky in place. Nobody is in a hurry on that walk. from the studio

from the studio

— bring it home

Ashokan Reservoir spillway, 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 Ashokan Reservoir spillway

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

The Ashokan Reservoir was completed in 1915 as the first reservoir of New York City's Catskill water system, holding roughly 122 billion gallons behind the Olive Bridge Dam in Ulster County. The spillway lies at the western edge of the dam where the impounded Esopus Creek is released into the lower valley. The reservoir is part of the unfiltered supply that reaches the city through the Catskill Aqueduct, an 1907-era gravity system engineered by J. Waldo Smith.

— informed by Wikipedia — Ashokan Reservoir, NYC DEP

— the water

The reservoir covers about 8,300 acres and reaches a depth of 190 feet near the dam. Its water comes off the slopes of Slide Mountain, the highest peak in the Catskills at 4,180 feet, and travels south through the Esopus before the bowl catches it. The colour shifts with the season: green-gold in late summer, slate in November, a near-black mirror under low winter light. From the weir bridge the surface holds the ridgeline of Wittenberg and Cornell almost without distortion on a windless dawn.

— informed by NYC DEP — Watershed

— the visit

The Ashokan Rail Trail opened in 2019 along the former Ulster and Delaware Railroad bed, running 11.5 miles from Boiceville to West Hurley along the reservoir's north shore. The trail is free, opens at dawn, and closes at dusk. The weir bridge along the older Ashokan Promenade off Reservoir Road is the most photographed straight line in the Catskills. The lots fill on October weekends when the maples on the far ridge turn; midweek and shoulder-season mornings are the quiet ones.

— informed by Ashokan Rail Trail

— where

United States · Ulster County, New York

— within

Ashokan Rail Trail

— elevation

180 m · 590 ft

— position

41.9500° N · 74.2000° 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.

18 km W

Slide Mountain

Catskill high peak

12 km NE

Woodstock

Catskill town

18 km E

Kingston

Hudson River city

Ashokan Reservoir spillway

Slide Mountain

Woodstock

Kingston

— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Ashokan Reservoir spillway — and about bringing the piece home.

— about the place

A 122-billion-gallon reservoir in Ulster County, New York, completed in 1915 as the first reservoir of New York City's Catskill water system. It is held back by the Olive Bridge Dam on the Esopus Creek.

At the western end of the Olive Bridge Dam, off Route 213 near the hamlet of Olivebridge in Ulster County, where impounded water is released into the lower Esopus.

About 8,300 acres of surface water, twelve miles long, reaching 190 feet deep near the dam. It is the second largest reservoir in the New York City watershed system.

Yes. The weir bridge along Reservoir Road is open to walkers daily from dawn to dusk. Bicycles and pets are not allowed; the bridge is roughly half a mile long.

Windless mornings between sunrise and about nine, especially late October when the maples on the far ridge turn. Winter dawns after a hard freeze hold the ridgeline of Wittenberg and Cornell cleanly.

Yes, by rowboat with a free NYC DEP access permit. Motorboats and swimming are not permitted; the reservoir is unfiltered drinking water for nine million people.

— about the piece in your home

Often it is. People who grew up in Ulster County or who walk the rail trail recognise the weir line immediately. A Small or Medium with a handwritten studio note carries the place well.

The slate-and-green palette sits well with mountain-modern, quiet farmhouse, and warm minimalist rooms. It also reads cleanly against painted board and batten and against rough plaster.

Yes. The piece reads as water and ridgeline rather than as a landmark, which suits biophilic and Japandi rooms where the art needs to settle the eye rather than command it.

A single Large above a console, a four-tile Mural above a standard sofa, or a nine-tile Mural for a long sectional wall. The weir's horizontal line carries the wider formats well.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and tolerate steam and splashes; the Glossy finish is for framed wall pieces away from direct water.

A soft microfibre cloth with water. Skip abrasive pads and ammonia cleaners. The colour is infused into the ceramic surface beneath a thin protective finish, so the image will not lift.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original work from our Knoxville studio, curated by Reid Wender. We do not license imagery in or out.

— if this one stayed with you