The Studio

The studio is arranged so that work can continue without unnecessary interruption. Benches carry the marks of repeated use. Shelves hold pieces at many stages of completion, without judgement or urgency. The air carries the familiar smell of clay and the low, steady sound of making, a wheel turning, tools being set down, conversation happening alongside hands at work.

Time behaves differently in ceramics, and the studio respects that difference. Clay dries according to its own internal logic. Glaze settles in its own way. Kiln firings follow a sequence that cannot be rushed without consequence. Learning to recognise when to intervene, when to wait, and when to leave something alone entirely is part of the practice here.

Studio18 is suited to artists and makers who are comfortable working without constant instruction or affirmation, and who value the quiet intelligence of materials. It is not a production facility designed for volume, and it is not a teaching factory with set outcomes. It exists to hold the conditions in which thoughtful, original work can take shape over time.

Studio18 is held by Tim Lichtenstein.

Before returning home to Aotearoa New Zealand, Tim spent several years living and working aboard a sailboat in the Mediterranean. Life during that time was shaped by weather systems, maintenance cycles, movement, and long stretches of waiting. You learned quickly what could be rushed and what could not, and how much depended on paying attention to conditions rather than trying to control them.

That experience now informs the way Studio18 is held.

Tim works alongside others in the studio, maintaining the space, caring for tools and equipment, and paying close attention to the studio’s rhythm. His role is not to direct people’s work or to define outcomes, but to cultivate an environment that can support sustained practice, shared presence, and careful attention to material.

The studio reflects this approach quietly. Tools are looked after. Processes are respected. Work is allowed to unfold without pressure. Nothing here feels abandoned, and nothing feels forced. The space holds attention well because it has been shaped by someone who understands the long view.

Studio18 is not a retreat from the world. It is a continuation of a life shaped by responsibility to materials, to place, and to the people who work alongside you.