Line Studio Presents an Exhibition Celebrating Connecticut Artist and Craftsman Clif O. Ward
Nearly a century of craftsmanship, memory, and creative exploration comes together in works spanning drawing, watercolor, woodcarving, cross-stitch, and more.

MANSFIELD CENTER, CT.  - Line Studio will present an exhibition of work by Connecticut artist and craftsman Clif O. Ward from October 23 through November 1, 2026. The exhibition brings together a deeply personal body of work shaped by Ward’s lifelong appreciation for working with his hands, observing the natural world, and transforming everyday materials into meaningful objects.

Born March 16, 1931, in Rockville, Connecticut, Ward grew up as the eldest of six children in nearby Tolland. His early years were defined by resourcefulness and hard work: tilling the garden, hauling water from the brook, helping dig the family well, watching his father add to their small home, and making slingshots and stilts. Those experiences helped form the practical imagination that would later guide his art.

Ward attended Shenipsit Lake School, Hicks Memorial, and Rockville High School, graduating with the Class of 1949. He worked after school at F.W. Bradley Lumberyard in Rockville and spent summers in Ellington’s tobacco fields. Drawn to woodworking and manufacturing classes, he discovered the satisfaction of shaping, building, and making. Although his graduation requirements prevented him from taking art classes, he pursued a mail-away art course—an early sign of his determination to create.

After high school, Ward married Althea Stearns and was 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 onward to Hokkaido, Japan, before he reached Pusan, South Korea. In Korea’s snowy conditions, he dug paths for trucks, traveled by ski, and used his ingenuity to repair the small heaters used in soldiers’ Quonset huts.

Returning home to Althea and their infant daughter, Linda, Ward later welcomed three sons, Tom, Kenny, and Jeff. From 1951 to 1974, he delivered milk and dairy products for Mountain Dairy throughout surrounding towns. Along his route, he located and purchased parts from two separate vehicles and used them to build a Model T—another example of his hands-on creativity.

From 1974 to 1992, Ward worked in the University of Connecticut Carpentry Shop, repairing furniture and eventually becoming Assistant Foreman. The work strengthened the craftsmanship, patience, and attention to detail that would become hallmarks of his creative practice. He retired in 1992 as furniture replacement increasingly took the place of restoration.

Retirement gave Ward 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 work also includes detailed cross-stitch pieces and a mural of trees painted on his living room wall, where small shelves hold his collection of ceramic birds. After Althea’s death in 2009, Ward married Vera Stearns in Woodstock, Connecticut, in 2010. Vera has continued to encourage his art, including giving him drawing lessons at Line Studio for his 94th birthday in 2025.

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

Exhibition Details
Made by Hand: The Creative Works of Clif O. Ward’s will be on view October 23–November 1, 2026, at Line Studio, 534 Storrs Road, Mansfield Center, Connecticut. An opening reception, free and open to the public, will be held Friday, October 23, from 5–7 p.m., offering visitors an opportunity to meet the artist and learn about his creative journey. Gallery hours are Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.–2 p.m., and Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 2–5 p.m.