Bachelder goes off the wall: Berwick Renaissance man displays his varied talents at the Franklin Gallery
By SHAWN MACOMBER Showcase Correspondent
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ROSS BACHELDER, poses with some of his artwork on display at the Franklin Gallery in Rochester. (Shawn Macomber/Democrat photo) |
The time has come for the shop master to have a day in the sun and some wares in the window.
The work of Berwick artist and Ben Franklin Crafts frame shop manager Ross Bachelder is being featured this month in a show at the Franklin Gallery, "On the Wall, Off the Wall: Works By Ross Bachelder."
The most striking thing about this show is the variety of genres in which Bachelder is comfortable working, and, in fact, excels. He brings an original flair and talent to traditional and abstract paintings, assemblage, drawings, and photography. At first glance, the show looks more like the work of 10 artists than one.
"The creative world is, I think, populated by two somewhat distinct camps of people: the specialists and the generalists," Bachelder said. "Both camps make absolutely essential contributions to the arts. By temperament and inclination, I’m a confirmed generalist. I go where the spirit moves me, exploring similarities between artistic genres, searching for connections between theater, writing, music and the visual arts, relishing the way one creative project leads serendipitously to another."
Bachelder’s involvement in the visual arts is a somewhat new development, although he has always loved museums and galleries. He holds degrees in music and English literature, and has worked extensively both those fields for years. Still, Bachelder felt a pull towards the visual arts he couldn’t deny.
"Six years ago, as I took stock of my work as a writer, musician and theater professional, I realized I’d not made a concerted effort in the visual arts," he said. "I had only a scattering of original drawings in my files, some pretty good, others not good at all. So I decided to get focused and begin to produce.
"Since then I’ve shown my work in more than a dozen exhibits, growing from a sort of terror that what I was doing had no merit to a realization that many people have expressed interest in my art," he said. "Together, their continued interest and my own burning ambition to produce and grow as a visual artist are what keep me in the studio."
Working at the Franklin Gallery has given him a unique window through which to see the arts, Bachelder said.
"I genuinely love my work as manager of Ben Franklin Crafts frame shop and the Franklin Gallery," he said. "Each day, we framers see a fascinating mixture of works — both humble and magnificent — cross our service counter. Some people see only weak and uninspired art; others work in galleries and museums where they see only the works of professionally trained artists who are immersed in the high-pressure world of gallery exhibiting. As a retail framer I see everything imaginable."
That perspective has deepened his love for local arts communities everywhere, and deepened his resolve to help expose this work to as many people as possible.
"It helps me appreciate the enormous range of creative activity in every community, and it tempers that very human tendency to look only for what is bad in a work of art," he said. "With a little effort and a generous heart, one can nearly always find something good in a specific work."
Bachelder has founded Artful Endeavors, a marketing and career development service dedicated to helping people attempting to make a go of it in the world of the fine and performing arts.
As far as the future goes, much like his latest show, Bachelder is going to let his muse lead him where it may, in the arts, writing, music, and life.
"It’s likely I’ll never find a home in the conventional gallery world," he said. "Nor am I looking for one. I’m too much a maverick, too much a generalist in a world of specialists. All of that suits me fine. I’ve made creativity an indispensable part of my daily living."
"On the Wall, Off the Wall" will be on display at the Franklin Gallery, located inside Ben Franklin Crafts in Rochester, through July. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5p.m.
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