Stephan Hillerbrand and Mary Magsamen are a husband-and-wife artist duo from Houston, Texas, and they have built a spaceship in their backyard. They are also the latest guests on A View From the Easel, a series where artists talk about their workspaces. Their studio is a garage split down the middle by a wall, with an air conditioner running through it because it is Houston. And they love the mess.
The couple has been working together for over 25 years, first as a collaborative team and later as a married couple. When they moved from New York to Houston, they felt lost. “How did we get here?” they recalled, referencing a Talking Heads song. They turned their whole house into a studio, cutting holes in walls with chainsaws and sledgehammers to build a three-and-a-half-story spaceship in the backyard. The house became a permanent construction zone.
Eventually, the chaos got too much for visitors. People kept asking to see the mess, so the couple built a simple wall down the middle of their garage and put an AC unit in it. The result is a studio that is part refuge, part storage dump, and entirely messy.
Mess Is the Point
The studio’s main feature is the pile. “We mean a lot of piles,” Hillerbrand said. “Piles to start a project, piles during a project, and piles of stuff after it is finished.” The garage is where those piles can sit without being disturbed.
The couple works in a routine. Hillerbrand starts projects in the morning, and Magsamen takes over in the afternoon and evening. On weekends, they gather to argue about changes and what they want to keep. The debates are part of the practice, not a sign of trouble.
Their work is personal. They make art about their lives, their home, and what is happening now. That means the studio is not a refuge from daily life the way most artists describe it. Instead, it is a place to get away from the art happening in the house. Magsamen once walked into the kitchen to find Hillerbrand spreading everything they owned across the counters, making a “space satellite.” She went into the studio to order takeout and escape the disaster.
Houston Is Full of Artists
When the couple first arrived in Houston, they thought they were alone. The city sprawls, and they expected a quiet suburb. They were wrong. Artists lived a block away, two blocks away, everywhere. Houston has one of the most vibrant arts communities in the country, they said.
They started doing fun things like block parties and open studios. A year ago, they made a tiny gallery in their front yard called Shepherd Park Projects, named after their neighborhood. They invite six local artists each year to create a miniature exhibition. For the recent FotoFest Biennial in Houston, they hosted a group show of Polaroids.
What They Love About Their Studio
The studio is a place to be messy. They do not clean up after themselves, and they do not want to. The piles are allowed to hang out for a while. But there is a sadness too. The studio is only 10 feet away from the house, and they miss it being the studio.
The couple also loves the local museums. Their favorite is the Houston Center for Photography (HCP).
What They Wish Were Different
The studio has one major flaw. Size. After 25 years of working together, they only bought a flat file six months ago to hold some work. They have no archive of old pieces.
The couple works with unusual materials. They love Nerf Bullets, rhinestones, and zip ties.
The Backyard Spaceship
The spaceship in the backyard is the centerpiece of their story. It is a literal ship built by hand, and it took over the whole property. The couple tunneled through walls and cut holes to build it, and the house stayed in constant disarray until they built the garage wall.
The story is a reminder that creative spaces are not always tidy. A studio can be a disaster, and that disaster is often where the work happens. Hillerbrand and Magsamen embrace the mess, even when it drives their wife to order takeout in the kitchen.
The Bottom Line
The couple’s studio is a garage, a backyard, and a front-yard gallery. It is also a place where piles are celebrated and size is the enemy. Their work is about their lives, their home, and what is happening now, and the studio reflects that.
The Houston arts community is alive, they found. They host exhibitions in their front yard and participate in the FotoFest Biennial. They love the HCP. And they love Nerf Bullets.
Key facts box
– Studio location: Houston, Texas
– Garage studio: 10 years
– Home studio: 20 years
– Collaborative partnership: Over 25 years
– Flat file purchased: Six months ago
– Favorite museum: Houston Center for Photography (HCP)
What the couple loves
– Piles of unfinished work
– Nerf Bullets, rhinestones, zip ties
– The Houston arts community
– Hosting exhibitions in their front yard
– The FotoFest Biennial
The couple’s story is a reminder that creativity does not require a clean desk. It requires a space where ideas can pile up, and where the house can become the studio. Hillerbrand and Magsamen have found that space in Houston, and they are not planning to clean it anytime soon.
Source material: “A View From the Easel,” Hyperallergic.
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