Wender·Vista
Wilson Lake
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileKansas
off I-70 in the Smoky Hills, between Salina and Hays

Wilson Lake

— the clearest blue the prairie keeps.

Kansas wall art on a ceramic tile, made to order
from $22
Finished by hand in Knoxville. Free US shipping over $75, on your wall in about ten days. Damaged in transit? Free replacement within 30 days; other returns within 30 days. Returns · Contact
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.
In the living room, above the sofa.
In the living room, above the sofa.
Beside the kettle, propped on the counter.
Beside the kettle, propped on the counter.
On the nightstand, catching the morning.
On the nightstand, catching the morning.
In the entryway, first thing you see.
In the entryway, first thing you see.
A quiet corner of the bath.
A quiet corner of the bath.
shown in a slim black floating frame · 6 × 6 in
shown in a slim black floating frame · 6 × 6 in
— bring it home

Wilson Lake, 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.

comes gift-ready
comes gift-ready

Each tile ships in a kraft box, tied with cream ribbon, with a handwritten note from the studio if you'd like to add one.

or build a grouping
or build a grouping

Three or five different vistas, hung together — a chapter of places you've been, or want to go.

a note from the studio

Wilson Lake sits in a Dakota sandstone basin where the Saline River cuts through the Smoky Hills, the buff bluffs that announce western Kansas to anyone driving I-70. The water reads improbably blue for the plains — the locals call it the clearest lake in Kansas, and the limited inflow and rocky bottom make the claim defensible. The reservoir was completed by the Corps of Engineers in 1964. On the north shore, the Rocktown Natural Area trails wind through fifteen-foot sandstone pillars the river left standing. from the studio

from the studio
about Wilson Lake

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

Wilson Lake is a 9,040-acre reservoir on the Saline River in north-central Kansas, straddling the Russell-Lincoln county line about eight miles north of I-70 between Salina and Hays. The dam was completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1964 for flood control, water supply, and recreation. Wilson State Park manages two developed areas, Otoe and Hell Creek, along the south shore. The lake sits in the Smoky Hills region where Dakota sandstone bluffs replace the flatter mixed-grass prairie to the east, and the rocky shoreline gives the water its distinctive clarity.

the water

Wilson is widely cited as the clearest lake in Kansas, with summer Secchi-disk readings often more than twice those of comparable plains reservoirs. The clarity comes from a small drainage relative to the lake's volume, a rocky Dakota sandstone bottom that resists turbidity, and limited agricultural inflow compared with reservoirs farther east. The fishery centers on striped bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, and white bass; the smallmouth population is one of the strongest in the state. Water levels fluctuate seasonally with Corps flood-control management.

the visit

The lake is reached by exit 206 off I-70 at Wilson, then K-232 north about eight miles to the dam. Wilson State Park covers 927 acres in the Otoe and Hell Creek areas along the south shore, with campgrounds, boat ramps, and the IMBA-rated Switchgrass mountain-bike trail running twenty-five miles along the bluffs. The Rocktown Natural Area on the north shore is a 320-acre tract of Dakota sandstone pillars accessed by a 2.7-mile hike from the Lucas Park trailhead. Closest towns: Wilson and Lucas, both small and within fifteen minutes of the dam.

where
United States · Russell and Lincoln Counties, Kansas
within
Wilson State Park
elevation
458 m · 1,502 ft
position
38.9608° N · 98.5050° 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.
6 km N
Rocktown Natural Area
Dakota sandstone hiking area
2 km S
Switchgrass Mountain Bike Trail
IMBA epic trail
17 km N
Lucas
Kansas grassroots-art town
13 km S
Wilson
Czech heritage town
N
Wilson Lake
Rocktown Natural Area
Switchgrass Mountain Bike Trail
Lucas
Wilson
common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Wilson Lake — and about bringing the piece home.
about the place

Wilson Lake sits in the Smoky Hills of north-central Kansas, on the Russell-Lincoln county line about eight miles north of I-70 between Salina and Hays. Exit 206 at the town of Wilson is the main access.

The reservoir covers about 9,040 acres at conservation pool and was completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1964 for flood control, water supply, and recreation on the Saline River.

Yes. Summer Secchi-disk readings often exceed twice those of comparable plains reservoirs. The clarity comes from a small drainage, a Dakota sandstone bottom, and limited agricultural inflow relative to reservoirs farther east.

Rocktown is a 320-acre tract on the north shore where the Saline River left a field of Dakota sandstone pillars up to fifteen feet tall. It is reached by a 2.7-mile hike from the Lucas Park trailhead.

The fishery includes striped bass, white bass, walleye, and one of the strongest smallmouth bass populations in Kansas. The rocky shoreline and clear water support better smallmouth habitat than most plains reservoirs.

Wilson, thirteen kilometers south of the dam, has a Czech heritage and the world's largest Czech egg. Lucas, north of the lake, is a Kansas grassroots-art destination anchored by S. P. Dinsmoor's Garden of Eden.

about the piece in your home

It reads as considered for a state-park camper, a Switchgrass rider, or anyone who grew up summers on the Saline River. A Medium with a handwritten note carries the lake's blue without going generic.

The blue water and buff Dakota sandstone palette settles into Prairie-modern, Lake-house, and warm Coastal-modern rooms. It also reads in a Western-contemporary setting where the sandstone tones match leather and oak.

Yes. Lake-house and Prairie-modern interiors have stayed strong as buyers move past coastal and alpine motifs, and place-specific Kansas water imagery is rare enough to read as discovered rather than stocked.

A single Large carries an eight-foot sofa or wide console. For a longer wall, a four-tile Mural opens the lake horizon; a nine-tile Mural is the architectural choice for a lake-house great room or stairwell.

Yes, with the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and handle humidity, so the tile works as a backsplash insert or shower feature. The Glossy finish is reserved for framed wall display.

A dry or barely damp microfibre cloth. No solvents, no abrasive pads. The colour is infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, so the surface is durable, but the finish prefers gentle care.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is made in our Knoxville studio under Reid Wender's curation. No licensed imagery, no third-party prints. One eye, one atlas.

if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.
Cheyenne Bottoms wetland
in the Great Bend lowlands of central Kansas
Cheyenne Bottoms wetland
— the marsh the whole continent stops at.
KU Watson Library
on Jayhawk Boulevard, at the top of Mount Oread
KU Watson Library
— the long reading room and the light that crosses it.
Pawnee Rock State Historic Site
above the Arkansas River bend in central Kansas
Pawnee Rock State Historic Site
— the rock the Santa Fe Trail counted by.
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
the Flint Hills of Chase County, Kansas, north of Strong City
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
— the last big piece of the ocean of grass.
Wichita Botanica gardens
on the riverbank at Murdock and Amidon, north of downtown Wichita
Wichita Botanica gardens
— the part of the prairie that learned to bloom on cue.
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