Dalton couple expresses imaginations, each in own way
Patrick and Robyn Holbert of Dalton commune with trees or their by-products in expressing their imaginations — his through wood carving and hers through putting words to paper as an author.
"That day she put our heads together, fate had her imagination about her."
In his poem, "Tree at My Window," Robert Frost expressed this sentiment about a person and a tree. Patrick and Robyn Holbert commune with trees or their by-products in expressing their imaginations — his through wood carving and hers through putting words to paper.
The Dalton couple, married 37 years, have additional commonalities. Robyn Holbert taught English at Green Local Schools while Patrick Holbert was teaching American history and coaching football and track at Dalton High School. And both dreamed, before meeting, of living in a geodesic dome house. That aspiration is one of many that this power couple has since achieved.
Patrick Holbert wields that power in the form of a chainsaw. This world-renowned, award-winning artist also utilizes smaller power tools and chisels to sculpt benches, bears, eagles, owls and Native American figures. He carves in his shop five to eight hours per day, six days a week, during the winter. But his work doesn’t stop there.
“I have to procure the logs, sharpen saws, keep tools running, stain and seal the pieces, and clean up afterward,” he explained.
His specialty is carving tree stumps with partner Jack Riese of Massillon. The designs are determined following discussions with clients involving the artists’ sketches.
“They have to have a lot of input into what we’re going to carve in their yard,” Patrick Holbert said, “because they’re going to be looking at it for a long time.”
The final piece, 8-10 feet in height, can usually be completed in a day.
Meanwhile, Robyn Holbert is busy crafting her own art. Under the pen name Annie Harrison, she has written three books. The first, "Schultz Avenue," is a retrospective on growing up in Dalton in the '60s. "Jonahville: Thirty Years in the Belly of the Beast" shares what it’s like to be a teacher while the fictional "Change in My Pocket" features several people telling stories of their lives while stranded at an airport.
She is currently hard at work on another three books — simultaneously. "Luck of the Irish — Stench of the Trolls" is about a leprechaun family, "Unfulfilled" honors her brother who passed away seven years ago, and "Two Boomers in a Jeep" tells about her and a friend once driving from Vermont to Vegas, picking up hitchhikers along the way, “which we may or may not regret,” she said.
What prompted two former teachers to forego retirement for such pastimes? “I was ready to do something different,” Patrick Holbert said. “I’d enjoyed carving ever since I whittled as a boy.”
So he signed up for classes at the prestigious Geisler-Moroder school of wood carving in Elbigenalp, Austria and was soon learning the centuries-old art of carving by hand. Hoping to translate his training to chainsaw carving, he honed his skills for many years in his workshop next to his home before establishing Sugar Ridge Carving.
Robyn Holbert found writing a welcome transition from teaching. “I had time to say what I wanted to say for 30 years,” she said.
She soon yearned to write more than books, so she did what anyone else with a little free time might do — she wrote a hundred songs. One was picked up in Nashville and peddled to various singers. “It never went anywhere,” she said, “but it was fun.”
The process involves writing what amounts to poetry, then the music, then the harmony for various voices. “Most of my songs will never be heard. They’re sitting in a folder somewhere, but I love songwriting,” she said.
Writing music isn’t her only involvement in the industry. She began playing piano and singing as a child, sang in a sacred music group, and eventually formed a pop singing trio, The Average White Broads, with two friends. For 11 years they performed at coffee shops, festivals, restaurants and corporate events. They sang the national anthem at an Akron Aeros baseball game and entertained at the Das Vroom European Car Show in Columbus. (They rebuffed the nudist colony gig.)
A much different sound emanates from the shows Patrick Holbert does — the buzzing of chainsaws. He committed to 22 shows during this year’s spring through fall season, but many have been cancelled due to the coronavirus. Some shows are fundraisers with the pieces auctioned off and a portion of the proceeds going to charity.
Although he carves mostly in Ohio and neighboring states, his work has taken him much further. He has carved twice on Queen Elizabeth II’s Sandringham estate, at the English Open, which may sound like an athletic event.
“Chainsaw carving is an athletic event,” he said. “You’re maneuvering a heavy chainsaw for 10 hours. But it’s so much fun that you put up with the tough parts.”
The duo is mutually supportive. “Robyn is the cheerleader,” Patrick Holbert said. She also takes commission orders, books his travel and sometimes accompanies him to shows.
Robyn said Patrick was instrumental in one of her forthcoming books. “He’s Irish with vast knowledge of all things leprechaun,” she said.
Patrick Holbert also was responsible for nudging The Average White Broads into performing by covertly procuring their first engagement.
The Holberts believe in pursuing dreams. There is a tradition in which carvers raise their chainsaws overhead and engage the triggers for 10 seconds to kick off shows with a roar.
“At the Japanese Expo, one older man held his chainsaw overhead for the 10 seconds, then collapsed and died. He died doing what he loved,” Patrick Holbert said. “So if there’s something you really want to do, you should probably give it a try.”
Check out Patrick Holbert’s website at www.sugarridgearts.com. He may be called at 330-857-4019 or emailed at holbert@hughes.net.
Robyn Holbert’s books (under the pen name Annie Harrison) are available on Amazon, may be ordered through bookstores and can be checked out at Wayne County libraries.