Wender·Vista
Nutty Putty Cave
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUtah · United States
west of Utah Lake, near Goshen

Nutty Putty Cave

— — the cave that closed itself.

— 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 small hydrothermal cave in the dry hills west of Utah Lake. Closed and sealed since November 2009, after a rescue attempt that ran twenty-six hours and ended the way it ended. The hillside above looks like any other in Juab County. A plaque marks what is below. Some places you remember by what is no longer entered.

from the studio
Nutty Putty Cave
— bring it home

Nutty Putty Cave, 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 Nutty Putty Cave

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 cave sits in the dry foothills of the West Tintic Mountains, southwest of Utah Lake near the small town of Goshen, in Utah County. Discovered in 1960 by Dale Green, it formed through hydrothermal action rather than the slow surface dissolution of most limestone caves. Mapped passages run roughly 1,400 feet and reach about 145 feet below the surface. The land is held by the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration. The entrance was permanently sealed with concrete in November 2009.

— the silence

After the rescue attempt of November 2009, the State of Utah and the Jones family agreed the cave would not reopen. The body of John Edward Jones, a twenty-six-year-old medical student from Stansbury Park, remains where he came to rest in a narrow side passage called Ed's Push. The entrance was filled, the shaft capped, and a small bronze plaque set into the stone above. The hill itself is quiet again. No visitor center, no path, no trail.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the visit

There is nothing to visit. The cave was closed by the landowner immediately after the 2009 incident, the entrance filled with concrete, and access prohibited. The plaque is the only marker. Curious hikers sometimes find the spot from a pull-off off Pole Canyon Road, then stand a moment and walk back. The Utah Office of Tourism does not list it among destinations. For those who want context, the documentary The Last Descent (2016) reconstructs the rescue more carefully than most accounts online.

— informed by The Last Descent (2016)
— where
United States · Utah County, Utah
— elevation
1,605 m · 5,266 ft
— position
40.0467° N · 111.9347° 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.
12 km NE
Utah Lake
freshwater lake
6 km S
Goshen
town
40 km NE
Provo
city
N
Nutty Putty Cave
Utah Lake
Goshen
Provo
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Nutty Putty Cave — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

A small hydrothermal cave in Utah County, southwest of Utah Lake near Goshen. Discovered in 1960, it drew scouts and amateur cavers through the 1990s and early 2000s. The entrance was sealed in 2009.

On November 24, 2009, caver John Edward Jones became trapped upside down in a narrow side passage. A twenty-six-hour rescue effort failed. The State of Utah and the Jones family agreed to seal the cave permanently.

In the West Tintic Mountains southwest of Utah Lake, in Utah County, near the small town of Goshen. The land is administered by the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration.

Through hydrothermal action, with warm water rising from below dissolving the rock, rather than the slow surface dissolution that shapes most limestone caves. The passages have a soft, putty-like texture, which gave the cave its name.

Mapped passages run roughly 1,400 feet in length and reach about 145 feet below the surface. The cave is small by Utah standards but unusually convoluted, with several tight side pinches.

No. The entrance was filled with concrete in November 2009 and the shaft capped. A bronze plaque marks the spot. There is no legal or physical way to enter the cave.

— about the piece in your home

For climbers, cavers, and Wasatch Front locals who remember 2009, the piece reads as remembrance rather than souvenir. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio carries the right weight.

The muted earth tones of the alcohol-ink ground sit well in Mountain-modern, Desert-modern, and quiet Minimalist interiors. The piece carries weight in a study or hallway rather than a bright living room.

Some buyers choose it for that reason. Others prefer brighter pieces from the Utah collection (Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef). The piece does not insist on its history; it is simply the hillside.

A single Large reads cleanly above a console. Above a sofa, a 4-tile Mural carries the scale better. For a study or reading nook, the Medium holds its own without dominating the wall.

Yes, when ordered in Dura Satin or Matte. Both finishes are scratch-resistant and handle splash and steam well. The Glossy finish is reserved for framed wall pieces in dry rooms.

A soft microfibre cloth with plain water. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure and rests beneath the finish, so the tile cleans like any sealed stone.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in-house in Knoxville by Reid Wender and hand-finished by the studio. The work is not licensed from any third party, and no two place compositions are repeated.

— if this one stayed with you

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