THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 4, 1995 TAG: 9506010229
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 32 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Mary Ellen Riddle
DATELINE: MOYOCK LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
Six cypress planks were laminated together to form a surface large enough to hold the head of a horse with a flowing mane.
Handmade for a neighboring stable, the mane is intricately carved, the head is complete with muscle tone and a realistic bone structure.
It's not an ordinary wood sign. It's a work of art, the product of an artistic union that is just beginning and a marital union that has been going strong for 15 years.
Sarah and Bob Koch (pronounced Cook) are working side-by-side these days in their Router Banks Sign and Art Studio in Moyock.
Located in an old feed mill, the Kochs' business has had little exposure, but the work they are turning out merits plenty.
Working primarily in cypress because of its natural rot-resistant nature, the Kochs carve and paint old-time signs, with or without artwork.
If your antique table is missing a set of chairs, they'll make you a set. Has your banister lost a post? Let Sarah and Bob carve a new one. They'll hand-carve your entire home if you're interested.
They could probably even replicate George Washington's teeth, if asked.
And their relationship is as interesting as their woodworking. In fact, it is hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.
The Kochs don't fight - at least not at work, Sarah says. Like interlocking puzzle pieces, they have produced a viable business by merging what they each do best.
Bob, 37, brings to the business 18 1/2 years spent in the military making patterns from wood. Sarah, 33, is an artist who enjoys drawing and painting.
Before they began working together, Sarah used to resent the time Bob spent making wood signs and other things for friends and relatives.
``I never see you,'' she would complain. ``You're always out there with the sawdust.''
One evening, as Bob's steak dinner grew cold and Sarah grew impatient, she flipped off the shed's power switch (which was, conveniently, in the kitchen).
Bob simply switched to his hand tools.
Their dog was well fed that night.
Sarah says Bob always gave her tools as presents. Sarah didn't really want them, but he knew he would eventually get to use them, so he chose the gifts carefully.
The first glimmer of a potential business collaboration came while Bob was looking at some of Sarah's watercolors. He remembers saying,``I wonder if I gave you a little router, if you could use it like a pencil.''
``I don't know,'' Sarah said. ``Is it gonna bite me?''
The couple tease each other a lot.
``You'd be just another woodworker without me,'' Sarah tells Bob. ``Without me, you'd be just another artist,'' he responds.
As fluidly as they work together to form any kind of wood creation imaginable - including hand-carved screens with flowing goldfish antique reproductions, signs and personalized creel boxes - they also possess contrasting personalities.
Sarah bubbles over with ideas and inspirations, talking non-stop. Bob is quieter. Sarah is excellent at approaching people and drumming up business. Bob is happier with a chisel in hand. Sarah draws easily and thinks better in two dimensions. Bob is great at visualizing three-dimensional designs.
Bob has years of experience handling tools and understanding the nature of wood. Sarah is great at drawing out designs for him to carve. He's a heck of a chiseler; she's one mean draftsman. And while Bob roughs out the shapes, Sarah points to spots that need a little fine tuning or more attention to realistic detail, like the muscles and bones in the horse's head.
Sarah has also nicked her knuckles with blade in hand, having learned to carve from her husband. Both have artistic natures, but Sarah can verbalize her creative thoughts easier.
Years of living together have enabled Sarah to understand Bob's way of thinking. She can put into words his creative dreams. Together they are able to have what few married couples have: a creative liaison.
And, thankfully, they both are quite capable of remaining silent for hours as they work.
As the wind whistles through the rafters at the old, no-frills sawmill, and as the Kochs swat at the wheat bugs that are blown in from the nearby fields, they carve and paint intricate schooner ships, antique wood bird houses and oriental scenes.
They dream of enhancing pilings, beams, molding and chests, and decorating ceilings with a frolicking dolphin frieze. They dream about huge carved flamingos elevating a beach cottage.
And as they dream, these modern-day Renaissance folks continue to carve out both a living and a beautiful relationship that's pure salt of the Earth. MEMO: The Kochs encourage you to bring your wildest dreams to them at Router
Banks Sign and Art Studio in Moyock, beside H&R Block, 435-2599.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARY ELLEN RIDDLE
Sarah and Bob Koch of Router Banks Sign and Art Studio have what few
married couples have: a creative liaison.
by CNB