Your pastel will not dry out….they are already dried out. Just like charcoal sticks or pencils wont “dry out”. Store them how ever you wish…..nothing to worry about.

Some of my pastels have been sitting out in the open in my studio for over ten years and they are as good as new. One “benefit” with them being out in the open and separated in hues and values, is if you have some fugitive colored pastels, you will see a grey pastel that doesn’t belong. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it is easy to cull it.

Doug

I thought about this on my way to work this morning, and I would expect most pastels to have a moisture content similar to their surroundings. And to an uncertain extent as humidity changes, their moisture content would fluctuate somewhat which is probably dependent on the stick’s ingredients and manufacture. In extreme conditions, this could affect the application of the color onto the paper. Of course, humidity would affect the paper too. I could see where the rain forest and the desert would be a couple of extreme examples to consider. The paper(‘s moisture content) could be more influential than the pastel in application. But then, I don’t think this is of any importance since most live in highly controlled environments.

I did not know that, Thank You