In September 2025, I went to live in the countryside of Chiang Mai, volunteering for Empty Space ceramics studio with a group of strangers.
This is our story.
This is Oraphan Lutgenhorst, the founder of Empty Space.
She created the place with her husband, ..., as a co-working space for artists.
She created the place with her husband, ..., as a co-working space for artists.
Every spare nook and cranny was lined with cups, statues of Ganeshas ... We ate and drank out of her handbuilt ceramics every day.
Every morning, we'd have to be careful opening the door to our dormitory.
The cat would sleep outside so that it had company from first thing in the morning to late at night.
The cat would sleep outside so that it had company from first thing in the morning to late at night.
ganeshita
At night, I would go down to the ceramics studio with Ferrucchio and Linus.
I would practice sculpting for hours, while we'd smoke, talk, or sometimes watch a movie. The cat would come sleep on the table and sleep while listening to us.
It seemed to me that the cat enjoyed our voices much like one enjoys a nap in the sun — it had a strangely human presence, and I liked to think that it knew much more than it let on.
It seemed to me that the cat enjoyed our voices much like one enjoys a nap in the sun — it had a strangely human presence, and I liked to think that it knew much more than it let on.
The studio was completely open to the outside, and we needed to line the floor with incense smoke billowing all the time, in order to ward off the mosquitoes.
I once heard a saying that,
"A craftsman sees with their fingertips before their eyes."
I would pick up the statues and cups that lined every corner of the studio, feeling their weight and construction, trying to glean the wisdom imparted by the expert fingers that made them.
"A craftsman sees with their fingertips before their eyes."
I would pick up the statues and cups that lined every corner of the studio, feeling their weight and construction, trying to glean the wisdom imparted by the expert fingers that made them.
I loved being surrounded by the greenery of the country. Vivid greens, pinks, and the sparkle of the water as the sun set.
Empty Space was built surrounding a central large tree, which bloomed beautiful pink flowers. P.Noy's son, Leon, told me that the tree had been there since he had been a little kid, and used to be half the height, such that the top of the tree would bloom flowers that you could touch from the balcony.
By the time I lived there, the top of the tree was far above the height of the house, and another layer of canopy and pink flowers was starting to grow far below the balcony.
In the morning, the bright sunlight would amplify the colour of the flowers to an almost blinding neon pink. It was the heart of Empty Space, and I felt a sense of its presence watching over us and the animals.
By the time I lived there, the top of the tree was far above the height of the house, and another layer of canopy and pink flowers was starting to grow far below the balcony.
In the morning, the bright sunlight would amplify the colour of the flowers to an almost blinding neon pink. It was the heart of Empty Space, and I felt a sense of its presence watching over us and the animals.
We would go on excursions through the countryside, usually led by Mohan: a travelling photographer who sometimes stayed in the space.
He took us to an temples, an abandoned art studio, and the most intriguing of the lot, a museum staged in shipping containers that only opened 4 hours a week, Tuesday 12-4PM — which I found rather odd.
He took us to an temples, an abandoned art studio, and the most intriguing of the lot, a museum staged in shipping containers that only opened 4 hours a week, Tuesday 12-4PM — which I found rather odd.
Only in the countryside, I suppose.
