Tim Roth leaves signs of his work all over town

Tim Roth is a woodcarver. But don't look for his work on a store shelf; he only works on custom signs and gifts.

Aside from woodcarving, he also does remodeling, engraving and is an expert jewelry maker.

"I've been doing artistic things since I was a kid," he said.

His carved wooden signs hang and stand all over town. He carved the large eyeglasses at Rhea Optical on Broadway. The carved waves on the Red House sign and a map inside with caricatures are his handiwork, along with the Boardman Pavilion and Southeast Missourian exterior signs.

He mainly uses red cedar, because it's easy to carve and naturally resistant to weather. He's working on a sign for artist Craig Thomas' Black Door Gallery on Spanish Street.

But sign making is not a full-time business. He also creates the sets for River City Players' community theater productions at Port Cape each year.

"I'm good at taking something and using it in a novel way," he said. "Lately, most of the work I do is remodeling."

One homeowner had several church pews, which Roth took and placed like a chair rail around the room.

"It's four feet high bar height. The walls have scallops that look like waves. Part of the wall looks like oak books," he said.

Port Cape's ice cream window features different colors and intricate patterns, all his.

"I like the different and unusual," he said, "and I try to bring that to those projects."

In front of Houck Stadium, opposite the Rhea eyeglasses, he designed the small patio behind the California Juice Club.

"They asked me to just put up a fence and a deck, and it got a little more than that," he said. "It's me putting a touch. It's distinctive."

Wood artistry may run in the family. His uncle, August Birk retired from the plumbing supply business and sculpted a couple dozen tree trunks with a chain saw. Ben Franklin and Abe Lincoln are only a few.

Roth worked for several years for Ervin's Metalsmith and Jason's Jewelers. He also knows how to engrave, work with stained glass and landscape design.

"I'm good with my hands," he said. "I don't mind if there's a lot of steps to get to the end, taking as much time as necessary. Angles and dangles are not a problem with me on having the patience to make things fit."