Misquamicut Beach
— the long open sand the state leaves alone.
Not only on a wall.
Misquamicut Beach, 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.
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.
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.
Three or five different vistas, hung together — a chapter of places you've been, or want to go.
“Seven miles of south-facing Atlantic sand on the Westerly shore, the longest open beach in Rhode Island and the one the locals mean when they say they're going down for the day. The Block Island ferry crosses the horizon behind it; Watch Hill sits to the west, Weekapaug to the east. The state-run section anchors the middle, with a bathhouse and a pavilion that has been rebuilt more than once after big storms. The water runs warmer here than anywhere else in New England. — from the studio
The place, in three passes.
Misquamicut is the seven-mile barrier beach on the south coast of Westerly, Rhode Island, separating Winnapaug Pond from Block Island Sound. The name comes from a Narragansett word meaning roughly red fish, recorded in seventeenth-century land deeds. The state beach in the middle of the strip is operated by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and stretches roughly half a mile of public access, with a bathhouse, snack bar, and seasonal pavilion. Hurricane Sandy in 2012 destroyed much of the boardwalk and concessions; the pavilion that stands today was rebuilt in the years that followed.
South-facing on Block Island Sound, Misquamicut catches the warmest summer water in New England, running into the mid-seventies Fahrenheit by August. The sound is sheltered enough by Block Island to keep most of the swell down, and the slope of the sand gives a long, easy break for surfcasters and bodyboarders. The Pawcatuck River empties three miles to the west at Watch Hill, and Weekapaug Breachway opens to the east; both tidal exchanges keep the beach water moving and clean through the season.
The state beach opens for the season in late May and closes the third weekend of September, with parking by daily fee for Rhode Island plates and a higher non-resident rate. Lifeguards staff the swimming section from late June through Labor Day. The east end of the strip carries the older amusement and motel district; the west end runs into the quiet shoreline approaching Watch Hill. The Atlantic Beach Park rides and the Andrea Hotel sit on the public road that runs the length of the barrier.
