Time disappears for pastel artist Maggie Muchmore in her home studio. When in here, “I feel like I am outside of time. I don’t have any clock. I don’t eat food in here. I don’t have a comfy chair. It’s for working. I love having the space. And it’s filled with tools. Sewing tools. Painting tools. Pastels. Hammers. I have maybe 30 different pairs of scissors, all different sizes—for paper, for sewing. And all kinds of rulers and measuring things,” she notes.

Originally a two-car garage, the studio is in a classic Stamm house in the Museum Hill area where she’s resided for half a century with her artist husband John Muchmore. This summer’s schedule is a fluid one for her. Basically, “I get up and I’m in the garden, mainly. Then I come in here and do some work. Then I go up to the Opera and volunteer at the costume shop,” she says.

The studio is always for the start of her day. How long she remains here varies. “When I was doing it to make a living, I was a very mean boss. Now I do it because I love it. But for years I made rules. So much had to be done by 5 o’clock, so much by Thursday, by Friday. It’s different being older,” Muchmore considers.