Help Heal Artist Seth Callander

Seth and I met on Facebook in 2018, excited by each other's artwork and then by the entirety of what we have in common.  Our relationship runs wide and deep, and Seth means everything to me.  When he told me he has cancer, it was like the world stopped.  I am here to help him, and to ask you to help him.  I'll let Seth speak for himself.


Moving to New Haven, just over a year ago, was the best decision I could have possibly made for my creative and social life. It came with some risks, I’ll admit, but the truth is that staying in Vermont held more peril than I knew. I’ve been especially lucky to find a studio, a decent apartment, and terrific clients to fill out the day-job requirements. Getting through the pandemic financially hasn’t been easy, but I’ve done more than alright. I’ve made new friends, I’m closer to those I already love, I have shown my work, and I have made great progress in the studio. 

Now the risks I’ve taken have landed me in a place I hadn’t expected. Until now, I’ve had the great fortune of good health. But I’ve been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor, which requires I have a kidney and assorted bits removed.  I have excellent insurance (thanks, Obama!) and am being very well cared for at one of the best hospitals in the world - Yale/New Haven - just down the street from me. I believe my prospects for full recovery are good.

But what this also means is that I won’t be able to work for at least two more months, and I need help to stay afloat.  I have no income when I can't work as a carpenter (other than my artwork, which is hardly a reliable source) and I’ve missed a month of work already. 

I have to ask for help.  I do this in the hope that I - that all of us - can return to what life is really about:  friends, love, ideas, and work.  I recently wrote this to a friend:

"The idea of making art seems far away. I have another task: to live, to get better, and, during that, to love and be loved."