shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileOregon

on the north Oregon coast, west of Tillamook

Cape Meares Lighthouse and Octopus Tree

Name: Cape Meares Lighthouse and Octopus Tree — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— — a short light and a spruce that grew like a candelabra.

— 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 shortest lighthouse on the Oregon coast, 38 feet of white tower above a basalt promontory west of Tillamook. A first-order Fresnel lens still rests inside, though the light went dark in 1963. Up the bluff, a Sitka spruce called the Octopus Tree spreads six trunks from a single base, shaped by hands no written record names. The wildlife refuge below holds one of Oregon's largest seabird colonies.

from the studio

— bring it home

Cape Meares Lighthouse and Octopus Tree, 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 Cape Meares Lighthouse and Octopus Tree

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

Cape Meares sits on a basalt headland on the north Oregon coast, about 10 miles west of Tillamook on the Three Capes Scenic Loop. The cape holds a state scenic viewpoint, the Cape Meares Light, and the Cape Meares National Wildlife Refuge, one of three coastal refuges established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907. The lighthouse and the Octopus Tree are both reached by short paved paths from the parking lot above the cliff, looking south toward Three Arch Rocks.

— informed by US Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon State Parks

— the light

The Cape Meares Light is the shortest lighthouse on the Oregon coast, 38 feet of white masonry above a 217-foot basalt cliff that does most of the work of lifting the beam. Built in 1890, it served until 1963, when a modern beacon at the cliff edge replaced it. A first-order Fresnel lens, one of the largest grades ever produced, still sits inside the tower and is shown to visitors during the summer season by Friends of Cape Meares Lighthouse.

— informed by Wikipedia — Cape Meares Light

— the silence

Up the bluff above the lighthouse, a Sitka spruce called the Octopus Tree spreads six secondary trunks from a single base, none of them rising the way a spruce normally rises. Forest pathologists and Tillamook tribal historians both consider it likely shaped intentionally, bent and tied as a sapling, probably more than 250 years ago and possibly far longer. It is roughly 105 feet tall today. The path to it is short, and most visitors stand under it without speaking.

— informed by Wikipedia — Octopus Tree

— where

United States · Tillamook County, Oregon

— within

Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint

— position

45.4861° N · 123.9758° 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

Tillamook

coastal town

4 km S

Oceanside

coastal village

13 km S

Three Arch Rocks

national wildlife refuge

22 km S

Cape Lookout

headland

Cape Meares Lighthouse and Octopus Tree

Tillamook

Oceanside

Three Arch Rocks

Cape Lookout

— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Cape Meares Lighthouse and Octopus Tree — and about bringing the piece home.

— about the place

On the north Oregon coast about 10 miles west of Tillamook, on the Three Capes Scenic Loop. The site holds a state scenic viewpoint, the historic lighthouse, and a national wildlife refuge.

38 feet, the shortest lighthouse on the Oregon coast. The basalt cliff beneath it rises 217 feet, lifting the beam high enough to do its work. Built in 1890, decommissioned in 1963.

A Sitka spruce on the bluff above the lighthouse, roughly 105 feet tall, with six secondary trunks rising from a single base. Most experts consider it intentionally shaped, likely by Tillamook people centuries ago.

One of Oregon's largest seabird colonies. Common murres, tufted puffins, pelagic and Brandt's cormorants nest on the offshore rocks. The refuge was established by Theodore Roosevelt in 1907.

Yes, seasonally. Friends of Cape Meares Lighthouse runs tours from spring through early fall, including views of the first-order Fresnel lens still housed inside the tower.

Yes. The basalt sea stacks lie about 8 miles south, visible from the bluff on clear days. They form their own national wildlife refuge, also dating to 1907.

— about the piece in your home

Many of our customers from the north Oregon coast have chosen it for family raised here. Cape Meares is a landmark of the Three Capes Loop. A Small or Medium with a note carries well.

The cool grey-blue Pacific and forest greens settle into Pacific Northwest, Coastal-modern, and Mountain-modern rooms. The white tower gives a focal point against natural wood and stone-toned walls.

Yes. Coastal decor has moved toward painterly, place-specific imagery rather than generic seascapes. A named lighthouse on a basalt cape reads more like art than souvenir.

A single Large reads cleanly from across the room. For a wider wall, a 4-tile Mural extends the cape line; a 9-tile Mural carries the lighthouse, the tree, and the sea.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and unaffected by humidity. The colour lives in the ceramic surface, not on top of it.

Microfibre cloth and water. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, so the surface itself is what you are wiping.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted by Reid Wender, the studio's curator. There is no licensing and no third-party art. One studio, one eye.

— if this one stayed with you