Maelyn Charlton, of Eketahuna, will be acting director for May and June.
She is an artist and the partner of artist Bernard Winkels.
Meanwhile, it is business as usual at Mt Bruce, with two artists in the house.
Anita DeSoto of Dunedin is the annual Friends of Aratoi Fellow and is spending a month working on a series of oil paintings in the Cottage Studio.
In the Garage Studio, musician Kedron Parker of Wellington is recording local birdsong and river song in preparation for a public art project in central Wellington.
Dr Flavell said Parker had made some "early morning excursions" throughout Wairarapa in search of a dawn chorus.
While she is sad to be leaving Mt Bruce, Dr Flavell said she is hopeful the studio is poised to "sail into a new era with dynamic new leadership".
She said perhaps NPS can now provide a base for regular workshops across a wide band such as fibre arts, documentary scriptwriting and music, as well as residencies.
But to move to stage two, which would include expansion by moving a former village hall and a small cottage on to the property, new sponsors and co-owners would be needed.
Artists, either newly arrived or booked to arrive at NPS, include Peruvian Raquel Esquives, who will take up a two-month residency, Anzac Bridge Fellow Lucy Jerram Moore and visual artist and story collector Laura Amtower, from Michigan in the US.