THE IMPACT OF BROADBAND: MAKERS EDITION Russ Jacobsohn in his workshop.
Wooden wonders
Local artisan creates rocking horses BY LISA SAVAGE
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few years ago, a young man holding a newborn baby walked up to Russ Jacobsohn’s booth at an art show. The new father had a big smile as he thrust the infant closer to Jacobsohn.
The man told Jacobsohn he had grown up riding one of his hand-carved rocking horses. “He said, ‘I just knew you’d want to meet the next rider,’” Jacobsohn says. And the man was right. Jacobsohn loves hearing stories about those who have enjoyed the carvings from Russ Rocking Horses through the years. Now, many owners are passing heirlooms to the next generation. Jacobsohn mostly carves rocking horses, but he’s been known to carve dogs, lions, tigers, bears and even some furniture. “I’ve done hundreds, and no two are the same,” he says. “If you can think it, I’ve probably carved it.”
FOR THE LOVE OF WOOD Jacobsohn fell in love with wood artistry when he was just a youngster in Delaware. His workshop was a walk-in closet, and he used a belt sander and a drill. After he got out of the Navy in 1979, he decided to move. He got in his car and drove south. “I found Tennessee, and I’ve never left,” he says. Jacobsohn fell in love with the area and bought a house near Sparta, and then he set up shop in the twocar garage. He loved carving things from wood and created his first rocking horse not long after the move. “I had this need to build things,” he says. For that first piece, a man asked him if he would carve a rock12 | July/August 2019
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