Outside the Line

Clif O. Ward is a Connecticut artist and craftsman whose creative practice is rooted in a lifelong appreciation for working with his hands, observing the natural world, and transforming everyday materials into meaningful objects. Born on March 16, 1931, in Rockville, Connecticut, Clif grew up as the eldest of six children in nearby Tolland, where his early years were shaped by resourcefulness and hard work. Memories of tiling the garden, hauling water from the brook, helping dig the family well, watching his father build additions onto their small home, and making sling shots and stilts as a boy became part of the practical imagination that would later inform his art.

Clif attended Shenipsit Lake School, Hicks Memorial, and Rockville High School, graduating with the Class of 1949. As a student, he worked after school at F.W. Bradley Lumberyard in Rockville and spent summers in the tobacco fields of Ellington. He especially enjoyed woodworking and manufacturing classes, where he discovered the satisfaction of shaping, building, and making. Although he was unable to take art classes while completing the coursework needed to graduate, he pursued a mail-away art course, an early sign of his curiosity and desire to create.

After high school, Clif married Althea Stearns and was soon drafted into the Army’s First Cavalry Division during the Korean War, serving from 1949 to 1952. Following basic training at Fort Dix, his service took him by train to California, by ship through Hawaii, and on to Hokkaido, Japan, before reaching Pusan, South Korea. He remembers the snowy conditions in Korea, needing to dig paths for the trucks and traveling by skis. Because of his ingenuity, Clif was tasked with fixing the small heaters used by the soldiers in the Quonset huts.

Returning home to Althea and their infant daughter Linda, Clif later welcomed three sons, Tom, Kenny, and Jeff. From 1951 to 1974, he worked for Mountain Dairy, delivering milk and dairy products throughout surrounding towns for 23 years. Along his route, he found and purchased parts from two separate vehicles and built a Model T, another example of his ingenuity and hands-on creativity.

From 1974 to 1992, Clif worked at the University of Connecticut in the Carpentry Shop, repairing furniture and eventually becoming Assistant Foreman. His years of furniture repair strengthened his craftsmanship, patience, and eye for detail—qualities that later appeared in his creative work. He retired in 1992, when furniture repair slowed as replacement furniture became less costly than restoration.

In retirement, Clif had the time to fully nurture his creativity. He learned chair caning, carved small wooden sculptures, painted in oil and watercolor, built intricate shelves, stenciled a rocker, and created images through wood burning. His artistic range also includes detailed cross-stitch works and a mural of trees painted on his living room wall, where he mounted small shelves for his collection of ceramic birds.

Clif’s personal life has also shaped the warmth and sensitivity of his work. His first wife, Althea, passed away in 2009. In 2010, he married Vera Stearns on a beautiful sunny day in Woodstock, Connecticut. Vera has continued to encourage his creative pursuits, including gifting him drawing lessons at Line Studio in 2025 for his 94th birthday.

At Line Studio, Clif created numerous drawings in graphite, colored pencil, and pen. In 2026, he returned to watercolor, combining it with pen to create expressive works that reflect both his steady craftsmanship and his lifelong curiosity. Across media, Clif’s art carries the character of almost a century of life spent building, repairing, observing, and making—an honest and deeply personal body of work shaped by memory, skill, and joy in creation.

The exhibition will take place at Line Studio, located at 534 Storrs Road, Mansfield Center, CT. Visitors can view Clif’s works from October 23-November 1, 2026. An opening reception scheduled for Friday, October 23rd from 5–7pm, is open to the public and provides a unique opportunity to engage with the artist and learn about his creative journey. Gallery hours are Saturday and Sunday from 11am–2pm, and Tuesday through Thursday from 2–5pm.

Line Studio presents: Wanderings, Paintings by Jessica Fallis

Connecticut Artist Jessica Fallis Showcases Paintings Inspired by Travel and Poetry March 13-March 22, 2026

Connecticut-based artist and educator Jessica Fallis announces her upcoming solo exhibition at Line Studio. Known for her evocative landscapes and exploration of themes such as light, color, and the cycles of nature, Fallis draws inspiration from poetry and her extensive travels, which have taken her to places in Maine, California, Alaska, and Poland. Her pieces reflect a deep engagement with the natural world and the transformative power of creative exploration.

Jessica Fallis holds a BFA in Painting and a BA in English from the University of Hartford, as well as an MA in English from the University of Vermont. She has exhibited her work in galleries throughout New England, New York, and the East Coast, and currently serves as a full-time high school art teacher in West Hartford, Connecticut. This exhibition represents Fallis’s work from the last 10 years of her painting practice.

The exhibition will take place at Line Studio, located at 534 Storrs Road, Mansfield Center, CT. Visitors can view Fallis’s latest works from March 13 - 22, 2026. An opening reception scheduled for Friday, March 13th from 5–8pm, is open to the public and provides a unique opportunity to engage with the artist and learn about her creative journey. Gallery hours are Saturday and Sunday from 10am–2pm, and Tuesday through Thursday from 2–5pm.

Steven Normand is a 72-year-old artist who resides in South Windsor, Connecticut. He graduated with a Liberal Arts degree from the University of Connecticut in 1975 and worked professionally for more than three decades in Connecticut’s Aerospace industry. Retiring in 2013, he had more time to pursue his passion for the visual arts.

Steven's interest in art began at a young age, inspired by his grandmother in Vermont. She encouraged him to experiment with still life drawing and gifted him a collection of pastels, in lieu of crayons, fostering his creativity. This early exposure was complemented by the influence of his aunt; a commercially successful oil painter and watercolorist whose landscapes and portraits deeply inspired him throughout his youth and into adulthood.

Largely self-taught, Steven began painting with acrylic in the early 1980s. After the birth of his son and daughter, he took a hiatus from painting. In 2006 he intermittently resumed creating art and since 2020, he has broadened his artistic repertoire to include graphite and colored pencils, pen and ink, and watercolors. Landscapes and cityscapes remain his favorite subjects, continuing to captivate his artistic focus.

Steven's wife, Linda, an artist herself, has been his greatest supporter. At her suggestion, they enrolled together in an art class in 2023, where they met instructor Jennifer Jeffreys. This experience marked a significant turning point in Steven’s artistic journey. Jennifer’s mentorship gave him the confidence to explore new techniques and expand his skills, particularly in graphite pencil drawing, which led to his first portrait works.

Watercolor has become Steven’s preferred medium. He finds painting with watercolors to be both therapeutic and personally rewarding. Steven’s work has been shown at the Piedmont Gallery in Somers, CT and took 2nd place at the Manchester Art Association’s show this fall.