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 listen to us.
The studio was completely open to the outside, and we needed to line the floor with incense smoke billowing to ward off the mosquitoes.
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 with my own.
