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Artist uses unique media [UPDATED]
Published 10:56am Thursday, April 19, 2012 Updated 10:56am Thursday, April 19, 2012Charlie Teberg has always had an artistic side. When he was growing up near Amor, he found out he had more artistic ability than he realized.
“I remember climbing up into a large oak tree to get a better shot of squirrels and falling the 25 feet to the ground and breaking my femur. I laid in the woods waiting for help for over four hours,” Teberg said.
Teberg’s mother, a teacher, encouraged him to start drawing while he was laid up from September to May in a full body cast.
“I really enjoyed all the drawing I was doing and decided maybe I should see what else I could do,” he said.
As he got older, Teberg took his art to new levels, using wood, metal and plastics. He built wooden trains, statues, replicas, a pool table, and even a cabin for his pontoon.
“When I was in the hospital recovering from the injuries I sustained overseas, I was sitting up in my bed drawing and making plans for things I could build with different materials,” said Teberg. “The nurse that was taking care of me saw some of my drawings next to my bed and told me I should be an artist.”
After he returned home from the military, Teberg was doing dishes at his home one day when he picked up a Palmolive dish soap bottle. He thought that maybe he could make something out of the bottle instead of tossing it away. He spent three hours each evening using different sized bottles to make sculptures.
“I saw a picture of the Budweiser Clydesdales and thought it would be cool to see if I can make that,” said Teberg.
Six months of tedious hand labor and more than 20 different plastic bottles later, his creation became a 3D version of the photo he spent so much time looking at.
“I really love the way the horses turned out. Every horse is equal in size and proportionate,” said Teberg.
He used hand sanitizer bottles, bingo marker caps and other plastic material to make the sculpture.
“I really enjoyed working on it,” he said. “It was a lot of fun to see how well it turned out. I used hot glue, cold glue, lots and lots of glue to get it together.”
Teberg plans on making other creations out of the plastic bottles and displaying them at local bars and at craft shows.
“Well, I am 88 years old, but I plan to keep doing my art as long as I am able,” he said.�
