Grand River National Grassland
— sage, bone, and a long west wind.
Not only on a wall.
Grand River National Grassland, 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.
“Roughly 155,000 acres of mixed-grass prairie and sage along the upper Grand River, in the far northwest of South Dakota near Lemmon. Managed by the US Forest Service, the grassland shares a long boundary with the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation to the north. It is greater sage-grouse country at its eastern edge, with quiet leks active in April. The Grand River runs west-to-east through the unit; Hugh Glass was famously left for dead along its banks in 1823. The horizon is unbroken in most directions and the wind, by mid-afternoon, is usually the loudest thing for miles. — from the studio
The place, in three passes.
Grand River National Grassland covers about 155,000 acres of mixed-grass prairie along the upper Grand River in Perkins and Corson counties, in the far northwest corner of South Dakota. The headquarters is in Lemmon. It is administered by the US Forest Service as part of the Nebraska National Forest and Grasslands unit, with the Cedar River National Grassland in North Dakota under the same office. The unit shares a long boundary with the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation to the north. Elevations run between about 2,200 and 2,700 feet.
Habitation is sparse — Lemmon, the largest town near the grassland, holds under 1,200 people. There are few fences and almost no trees on the skyline outside the river breaks. Cell service is partial at best, and gravel section roads turn to gumbo in wet weather. The wind almost always rises after mid-morning and runs through the grass with a sound that has no city analogue. Hunters, ranchers, and a few birders are the regular visitors; on most weekdays a section road will not see a vehicle for hours.
Late April through May is sage-grouse and sharp-tailed grouse courtship, with leks active at first light on traditional knolls. June and early July bring wildflower bloom across the draws — purple coneflower, prairie clover, scarlet globemallow. September into October opens upland bird hunting; deer and antelope rifle seasons follow into November. The Grand River runs lowest in late summer and can lock under ice from December into March, with drifted snow closing many of the section roads through the heart of winter.
