Wender·Vista
St. Lawrence Island
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States
in the Bering Sea, closer to Chukotka than to mainland Alaska

St. Lawrence Island

— — the island the ice still belongs to.

— 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

“An island in the Bering Sea closer to Russia than to mainland Alaska. Two Siberian Yupik villages, Gambell on the northwest cape and Savoonga on the north coast, hold a population of around 1,400. Walrus haul out on the gravel beaches in the spring as the ice retreats north. The light is low even at midday in winter, and the wind comes off the pack ice without warming. From the studio.

from the studio
St. Lawrence Island
— bring it home

St. Lawrence Island, 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 St. Lawrence Island

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

St. Lawrence Island sits in the northern Bering Sea about 64 km from the Chukotka Peninsula in Russia and 230 km from the Alaskan mainland at Nome. It is roughly 4,640 square kilometres of treeless tundra, the sixth-largest island in the United States. The two villages, Gambell and Savoonga, together hold about 1,400 residents, almost all Siberian Yupik. The island is privately held by the two village corporations under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, not federal land.

— the silence

There are no roads connecting Gambell and Savoonga; the 64 km between them are crossed by ATV across the tundra in summer or by snowmachine in winter. Bering Air flies small turboprops from Nome when the weather allows, which it often does not. The Yupik language is still spoken at home by a majority of residents, one of the highest indigenous language retention rates in Alaska. Subsistence walrus and bowhead whale hunting remains the backbone of the local food system.

— the season

The Bering Sea ice arrives off the island in late November and breaks up through April and May, later than the mainland coast. Pacific walrus haul out on the gravel beaches in spring and again in autumn as the herds follow the retreating ice north. The island lies on the East Asian–Australasian flyway, and more than 2.5 million seabirds nest on the cliffs at Sevuokuk Mountain above Gambell, including a large auklet colony. Polar bears occasionally come ashore in winter.

— where
United States · Nome Census Area, Alaska
— position
63.4000° N · 170.4000° 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.
at the lake
Gambell
Yupik village
64 km E
Savoonga
Yupik village
230 km E
Nome
Bering Sea port
N
St. Lawrence Island
Gambell
Savoonga
Nome
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about St. Lawrence Island — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

In the northern Bering Sea, about 64 km from Russia's Chukotka Peninsula and 230 km from the Alaskan mainland at Nome. It is the sixth-largest island in the United States.

About 1,400 residents, almost all Siberian Yupik, split between two villages: Gambell on the northwest cape and Savoonga on the north coast. The island is privately held by the two village corporations.

No. The island is privately owned by the Gambell and Savoonga village corporations under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. Visitors need permission from the corporations to land.

Vitus Bering sighted the island on Saint Lawrence's feast day, 10 August 1728, during his first Kamchatka expedition. The Yupik name, Sivuqaq, predates that encounter by millennia.

Pacific walrus haul out on the gravel beaches in spring and autumn as the herds follow the retreating ice. Subsistence walrus hunting is central to both villages' food year.

Bering Air flies small turboprops from Nome to both Gambell and Savoonga when weather allows. There is no road, no ferry, and no scheduled marine connection from the mainland.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for customers with family in Nome, Gambell, or Savoonga. The island reads as home for many in the region. A Small or Medium with a studio note carries well.

The cold blues and bone-grey tundra palette sit well in Arctic-modern interiors, in studies with weathered wood, and in Mountain-modern rooms that lean toward northern colour rather than Alpine.

Arctic-modern is the current cold-palette branch of mountain-modern: glacier blues, lichen, bone, dark cedar. The St. Lawrence tile sits inside that direction without leaning kitsch.

Above a standard sofa we recommend a single Large, or a 4-tile Mural for a wider wall. Above a console a Medium reads well; for a long entry wall a 9-tile Mural carries it.

Yes. For a bathroom or kitchen wall we recommend the Dura Satin or Matte finish, which is scratch-resistant and handles steam well. The Glossy finish is for drier rooms.

A soft microfibre cloth with plain water is enough. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, so it will not lift with regular cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to our studio in Knoxville, Tennessee, chosen and finished by Reid Wender. We do not license artwork from third parties.

— if this one stayed with you

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