In a fuchsia shirt and color-coordinated tie, Cockeysville metal- smith David Paul Bacharach cheerfully holds court in his prime corner booth at the American Craft Fair in the Convention Center.
He greets a friend with a peck on the cheek while meticulously arranging earrings in a glass case and describing to another visitor the melting pot of influences found in his work. Such finesse comes readily to Mr. Bacharach, one of the godfathers of the national crafts craze.
He was there in 1965, when New England artisans converged in a Vermont ski resort to sell their wares.
He was there when the crafts movement gathered enough steam to stage larger, more frequent shows throughout the country. He was there when the American Craft Council held its first show in Baltimore 19 years ago -- and he'll be there today when this year's craft show opens to the public at 10 a.m. It runs through Sunday.
Mr. Bacharach's career began at age 14, when he made a collection of jazz band sculptures with a butane torch, solder and sheet tin. Today, his pieces are made of copper, gold and silver, sell from $60 to $4,000 and are found in museum collections from New York to Los Angeles.
Not bad for a former dentist.
By the time he finished high school, Mr. Bacharach was an accomplished, self-taught metalsmith. But that did not sway his parents.
"I was very firmly directed into choosing a more traditional career choice, and picked dentistry for whatever reason," he says.
After graduating from the University of Maryland's dental school, he spent 12 years working for a successful practice in Columbia.
He continued his metalwork with equal fervor. "I got to the point where I was doing 40 hours a week as a dentist and 40 hours a week as an artist," Mr. Bacharach says.
The turning point came when he found himself teaching dentistry at UM and metalworking at the Maryland Institute, College of Art on alternate days. "This is nuts," he realized. "I just decided I would stop dentistry."
Mr. Bacharach, 46, has no regrets, although metalsmithing "is a much harder way to make a living."
One of his pieces will be auctioned tonight at "Treasure Boxes and Treasures," a benefit for the Maryland Committee for Children held in conjunction with the show.
Despite his success as a metal- smith, Mr. Bacharach's mother continues to worry about her son's livelihood. She is concerned that "either the time will come when the work is too hard, or the work will dry up, and I won't be able to support the family," he says.
But as wholesale buyers quickly gather in Mr. Bacharach's booth, it appears the former dentist's mom should have nothing to worry about.
BENEFIT AUCTION
What: "Treasure Boxes and Treasures," the Maryland Committee for Children's benefit
When: 8:30 to 11:30 tonight
Where: Chesapeake Ballroom, Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel
Cost: $60
Call: (410) 752-7588