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. They loved company. The studio was full of animals, with dogs, cats, and fighting roosters attached to cords.
I was told that more animals used to roam completely free, but they would smash the ceramics. I myself saw the cat annihilate a few.
The cat would sleep outside so that it had company from first thing in the morning to late at night. They loved company. The studio was full of animals, with dogs, cats, and fighting roosters attached to cords.
I was told that more animals used to roam completely free, but they would smash the ceramics. I myself saw the cat annihilate a few.
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.
Every one or two days, in the afternoon or night, a man would meander into the studio. He was La, the sculptor of almost every statue in Empty Space. He would put his favourite show on his phone, and begin sculpting intricate Ganeshas in his little corner.
I would sit and watch in silence until my eyes burned, until the mosquitoes had had their fill from my skin, hoping to absorb just a fraction of his skill. I never had seen anyone sculpt bring such intricate figures to life with their hands, so quickly. He could sculpt up to two Ganesha's a day, but rarely did he sit at the studio long enough before leaving.
I would sit and watch in silence until my eyes burned, until the mosquitoes had had their fill from my skin, hoping to absorb just a fraction of his skill. I never had seen anyone sculpt bring such intricate figures to life with their hands, so quickly. He could sculpt up to two Ganesha's a day, but rarely did he sit at the studio long enough before leaving.
Inspired, I tried to copy his work. He was not a man of many words, and in any case, I could not speak Thai. I tried to communicate my questions using my hands and eyes.
Should I sculpt Ganesha's arm using different sections glued together at the elbow?
I pointed at his finished sculpture, and rolled out 2 sections of clay.
I pointed at his finished sculpture, and rolled out 2 sections of clay.
Looking curiously at my hands, he picked a ball out of clay and between his fingers rolled and shaped a small arm within seconds. And just like this, we had our silent conversations. I felt that even in another world where we could understand each other, the words would have taken away the meaning instead of adding it.
My attempt at a copy is on the left made out of local black clay.
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.
