Alumni couple's creative connection celebrated with joint exhibition

Since first meeting in RIT’s printmaking studio in the 1970s, Jean and Bill Stephens have enjoyed 51 years of marriage, crafting a lifelong partnership filled with equal parts creative discovery and personal connection.

And this fall brought a full-circle moment for Jean ’73 (printmaking), ’77 MST (visual arts-all grades) and Bill ’74 MST (visual arts-all grades). They are back at RIT, where it all started for them, as the featured artists of a two-person exhibition, “Continuum,” on view through Dec. 14 in University Gallery.

For Jean, the show — which includes a tasteful array of her mixed media collages — represents a recent return to printmaking. Previously, she focused her career mostly on graphic design, illustration, drawing, and painting.

Her artist statement explains that the collages convey a narrative of personal and spiritual interconnectedness. The expression of her feminine perspective continues to be an important aspect of her work. Sacred symbols appear in richly textured surfaces, which often incorporate hand stitching, a nod to her ancestors.

“I went into my studio with the idea that I’m going to just play and not work,’” Jean said. “In the past my work has been representational. With this work it was more process-oriented and not product-oriented.”

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Caitlyn Daproza '26

Jean Stephens created a range of mixed media collages for "Continuum."

Bill’s intricate canvas drawings in the exhibition are the result of an intuitive process that often takes shape during 3 a.m. studio sessions and meditation.  

His artist statement reads that his work is process-driven and inspired by nature, journaling, memory, and his imagination. Each piece is extemporaneously developed and contains open-ended symbols that encourage personal interpretation and reflection.

“None of this work was planned. It was produced through my experiences of years and years of making and feeling things,” Bill said. “I’ll sit with the work. You have to let that percolate and make decisions based on that.

“There is a connectedness that is very visible,” Bill added of his and Jean’s work in ‘Continuum.’

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Caitlyn Daproza '26

When Bill takes in his drawings next to wife Jean's collage pieces on the walls on University Gallery, he observes a connectedness that wasn't necessarily planned, but inherently appeared.

In addition to their studio practices that have enabled them to exhibit regionally and nationally, Jean and Bill have also had fulfilling careers as educators. 

In a classroom that doubled as a sanctuary for young artists, Bill taught high school art in the Webster Central School District for 40 years following a short stint at Finger Lakes Community College. Over the years, Jean has been a creative resource in the Rochester community, offering art classes for adults from her home studio and is now leading workshops at Mill Art Center and Gallery in Honeoye Falls, N.Y. 

As fixtures in the Rochester arts community, they mentored and inspired countless artists. Their practices are still going strong, working daily out of separate studios in their Honeoye Falls, N.Y. home.

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Caitlyn Daproza '26

"Continuum" is the second two-person exhibition Jean and Bill Stephens have been in together.

By design, they are one with nature while creating their art, drawing inspiration from the serene beauty that envelops their 6.5-acre property. 

Located at the back of the house, Bill’s space has breathtaking sights of landscapes, rolling hills, and hedgerows. In the front sits Jean’s studio, which accepts northern light amidst views of a cedar tree grove and a delightful hillside. It’s an oasis for their creative endeavors, their meditation, and a partnership still bonded by art.

“It has affected our whole lives,” Bill said. “Creative people lead creative lives and it spills over to the day to day, into cooking and other things we do as a couple. Being with each other is comforting. It makes this process easier to know you’re in a good place together.”

“It was such a gift to look at the (‘Continuum’) work and reflect on this connection we have from all these years being together,” Jean said.