Wender·Vista
Au Sable Light Station
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileMichigan
on the Lake Superior shore inside Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Au Sable Light Station

— the white tower above a shipwreck coast.

Michigan 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

Au Sable Light Station, 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

A white brick tower on a low bluff above Lake Superior, between Grand Marais and Munising on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The light went into service in 1874 to mark the Au Sable Reef, a long shoal that has wrecked a string of nineteenth-century freighters. The station is reached by a 1.5-mile walk in from the Hurricane River campground on the Lakeshore Trail. — from the studio

from the studio
about Au Sable Light Station

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

Au Sable Light Station stands on Au Sable Point in Alger County, Michigan, on the Lake Superior shore inside Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The tower was built in 1873 and lit in 1874 to guide ships past the Au Sable Reef, a shallow sandstone shoal that runs offshore for nearly a mile. The conical brick tower rises 87 feet, with the keeper's quarters attached at the base. The light was automated in 1958 and is now managed by the National Park Service as a preserved historic site.

the water

The Au Sable Reef is a long submerged sandstone shelf running parallel to the shore, in places only a few feet below the surface in calm water. Before the light went up, the reef wrecked at least ten vessels in three decades. Several of those wrecks — the Sitka, the Gale Staples, and the Mary Jarecki among them — still sit on the shoal in shallow water, with timbers and iron visible from the bluff above. Lake Superior itself averages about forty degrees Fahrenheit even at the height of summer along this stretch of coast.

the visit

There is no road to the station. Visitors reach the light by walking 1.5 miles from the Hurricane River Campground along the Lakeshore Trail, a section of the longer North Country National Scenic Trail. The walk is mostly level, with one steady climb at the end. The National Park Service offers ranger-led tours of the tower on summer weekends, with a small fee for the climb. The campground access road closes in late autumn. Nearest services are at Grand Marais, twelve miles east on H-58.

where
United States · Alger County, Michigan
within
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
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.
19 km E
Grand Marais
Lake Superior village
2 km E
Hurricane River Campground
campground
25 km W
Pictured Rocks cliffs
sandstone cliffs
N
Au Sable Light Station
Grand Marais
Hurricane River Campground
Pictured Rocks cliffs
common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Au Sable Light Station — and about bringing the piece home.
about the place

On Au Sable Point in Alger County, Michigan, on the Lake Superior shore inside Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. It sits between Grand Marais to the east and Munising to the west, on Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

The tower was built in 1873 and lit in 1874 to mark the Au Sable Reef. The light was automated in 1958 and the station is now preserved by the National Park Service as a historic site.

The conical brick tower stands 87 feet from base to lantern, with the keeper's quarters attached at ground level. Its height was chosen to throw the light well out past the Au Sable Reef on calm and rough water alike.

A long, shallow sandstone shoal running roughly a mile offshore. It is shallow enough to tear a hull and has wrecked at least ten ships, several of which remain visible from the bluff in clear water.

On foot from the Hurricane River Campground, about 1.5 miles along the Lakeshore Trail. There is no public road to the station. The route follows a section of the North Country National Scenic Trail.

Yes, on ranger-led tours offered on summer weekends by the National Park Service, for a small fee. Tours are weather-dependent and the schedule narrows quickly outside of July and August.

about the piece in your home

Au Sable Light is a familiar landmark for Yoopers and for anyone who hikes Pictured Rocks. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio reads more personally than a generic lighthouse print.

The white tower against deep Superior blue and pale dune sand reads as Coastal-modern, Lake-house, and Nautical Traditional. It pairs with painted wood, linen, and weathered brass rather than chrome or high-gloss white.

Yes. The Great Lakes-modern turn favours specific named lights and stations over generic ocean imagery. A Lake Superior station reads as actual place rather than coastal cliché, which is where lake-house decor is moving.

Above a standard sofa or long console, a single Large reads well at eye height. For a wider wall, a 4-tile Mural opens out the shoreline, and a 9-tile Mural becomes the room's anchor piece.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte. Both are scratch-resistant and built for damp, vertical settings such as a backsplash, a shower wall, or a powder-room feature wall. The Glossy finish is for framed wall art.

A soft microfibre cloth with plain water. No abrasives, no ammonia-based sprays. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, so it does not lift with normal cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to our studio in Knoxville, Tennessee, curated by Reid Wender. No licensing and no third-party stock; the painting of Au Sable Light Station exists only here.

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.
Ann Arbor Nichols Arboretum
the University of Michigan's 123 acres along the Huron River
Ann Arbor Nichols Arboretum
— the first week the peonies open.
Black River Falls Sandstone
on the Black River, west of Bessemer in the Upper Peninsula
Black River Falls Sandstone
— the river working a sandstone shelf, one ledge at a time.
Craig Lake State Park
deep in Baraga County, west of Marquette
Craig Lake State Park
— the park you have to want to find.
Grand Rapids Ah-Nab-Awen Park
on the west bank of the Grand River, downtown Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids Ah-Nab-Awen Park
— a resting place, named in the old language.
Hiawatha National Forest
in Michigan's eastern Upper Peninsula, between three Great Lakes
Hiawatha National Forest
— the forest the lakes wrap around.
Houghton Lake
in north-central Michigan, in Roscommon County
Houghton Lake
— the inland sea the state keeps for itself.
Leland Fishtown
at the mouth of the Leland River, on the Leelanau coast
Leland Fishtown
— grey shanties, smoke, and the smell of whitefish.
Mackinac Island Grand Hotel
above the West Bluff of Mackinac Island, over Lake Huron
Mackinac Island Grand Hotel
— the longest porch in the world, looking south.
Matthaei Botanical Gardens
east of Ann Arbor, on Dixboro Road
Matthaei Botanical Gardens
— a long greenhouse and a longer prairie.
North Manitou Island
off the Leelanau Peninsula, in Lake Michigan
North Manitou Island
— an island the mainland forgets by evening.
Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse
at the Straits of Mackinac, where Lake Huron meets Lake Michigan
Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse
— the keeper's tower the bridge made quiet.
Old Mission Point Lighthouse
at the tip of Old Mission Peninsula, sitting on the 45th parallel
Old Mission Point Lighthouse
— a small white schoolhouse halfway to the pole.