nothin Canvases Battle Cancer | New Haven Independent

Canvases Battle Cancer

DAVID SEPULVEDA PHOTO

“I and My One French Fry,” by Sidney Harris.

The Canvases for Cancer silent auction and fundraiser held at the John Slade Ely House Sunday afternoon was wonderfully eclectic in its offerings, a smorgasbord of artworks donated by artists to help beat back the ravages of one of the nation’s top killers.

New Haven artist Katro Storm, who curates exhibits and is a member of The Visual Arts Advisory Group (VAAG) of the Arts Council of Greater New Haven, had wanted to join the fight against cancer for many years.

Katro Storm; “Pick Up Sticks,” by Kristina Zallinger, background.

His life, like so many among us, was touched by the insidious disease: Storm lost a sister to cancer several years ago and more recently an uncle.

Storm had a powerful ally in Debbie Hesse, director of artistic services and programs at the Arts Council, who helped organize the fundraiser. Paul Clabby, director at John Slade Ely House, made the exhibit space available. He squeezed us in between shows,” said Hesse.

Left to right, Debbie Hesse, photographer Joan Fitzsimmons, Paul Clabby.

Storm’s vision seemed threatened in the early part of the day as another kind of storm bore down on the area with heavy rain and ice. While some folks traveling to the show were deterred by the weather and phoned in regrets, organizers said they were both pleased and excited by the turnout.

Photographer Hayward Gatling said he donated five pieces to the fundraiser, recounting his short but painful struggle in losing his father to pancreatic cancer.

Artist Jo Kremer surveys Gatling photos.

Artist Ken Stevens (pictured with Storm), who has a studio at Erector Square and took a moment to pose with Storm in front of the two paintings he had donated, said he was diagnosed with breast cancer, noting that one percent of all breast cancers occur in men. Stevens, who smiled broadly and is doing well, said that he first noted the visible changes that ultimately led to the diagnosis. I had to have a mastectomy,” he said.

Nearby, Stevens’s wife, Lolly Renault, found two mixed-media designs that had her reaching for a pen. Renault, first to place bids on the pieces, raised the stakes by doubling the minimum bid price. It’s for a good cause” she said, pointing to the qualities in the piece she admired.

Artist Zeph Farmby lost his father to cancer when he was 13 years old. He contributed a large, color-infused portrait of a child holding up a sign.

In contrast was his much smaller piece painted on wood, with two children holding a sign bearing a political statement.

Josh Gaetjen, an assistant professor of art at Mercy College contributed a pair of architectural paintings, including one of the old New Haven Coliseum parking garage — an image that now exists only in photographs, and in the minds of those who remember the imposing structure before its demolition in 2007.

With him were his wife Sarah Fitzpatrick and their two children. Fitzpatrick, a cancer survivor, said she was fortunate to have had one of the more curable forms of lymphoma.

Anne Doris-Eisner whose 8” x 8” acrylic and micro-pen piece, Threatening,” was used to promote the exhibit, said the piece represents the catastrophic forces that sweep us away.” Doris-Eisner said she wanted to contribute a piece that is at the core of her art — a piece I felt proud of.”

By the end of the event, the nicely displayed exhibit was marked by uneven blank spacing, evidence of a successful auction and the realization of a long-held mission.

Winning bidders could contribute directly to the American Cancer Society on site via computer along with those who just wanted to make donations.

Storm noted that arrangements were being made to allow bids on some unsold items that will soon be posted online. Notwithstanding a few glitches in processing winning bids, Hesse said the event hit all the benchmarks of a successful exhibit and fundraiser. I hope to make this fundraiser an annual event,” said Storm after pulling it together on unusually short notice.

“Vancouver,” mixed media, by Mary Lesser.


For more information about available artwork, contact organizer, Katro Storm.

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