Librarian transforms discarded bottles into beautiful craftwork

Vanderbijlpark resident Tseko Monyamane had always known that his passion lay in arts and crafts, but he had no idea how to start.

But gradually, the librarian found his mojo after trying painting, drawing and even wood crafting. By 2018, he had started practising bottle craft after watching videos on YouTube.

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On weekends Monyamane scoured dumpsites for bottles, especially liquor bottles because they come in a variety of shapes.

After weeks of trial and error, he found himself grabbing a ball of wool and weaving it artistically around a whiskey bottle, adding different colours as he went along, he told The Citizen.

“I wanted to use my hands to produce beautiful things, I couldn’t stop thinking about art,” he said.

Librarian by day, craftsman by night

The 39-year-old works as a librarian at the North West University (NWU) Vanderbijlpark campus.

His passion for arts and crafts saw him start collecting bottles and buying heaps of colourful wool packs in March 2018.

After collecting the bottles, he scrubs them clean before applying the wool.

“I do this after work and weekends. Most people place orders at the end of the month, so I get busy during the quiet days to get stock ready.

“It’s what I enjoy doing, I sometimes work until 1am, it doesn’t tire me,” Monyamane said.

His first customer was his boss at the library, he said.

“I went months without customers. A few people had noticed my talent by the time Covid-19 hit in 2019.

“My manager was the first one to buy the first set of three bottles from me, and later his guests noticed them in his house, my work spread through word of mouth from then on,” Monyamane said.

Inspired by Ndebele artist Mahlangu

While trying to find his feet in the arts, Monyamane said he was inspired by world-renowned Ndebele artist Dr Esther Mahlangu.

The 88-year-old once narrated how she taught herself to paint from a very young age.

“I looked at her unmatched Ndebele artwork and success through the years and told myself that nothing stops me from following my dream too.

“Dr Mahlangu inspires me to do great things through art,” he said.

He added that as time went on and orders started coming in, he approached recyclers to keep liquor bottles for him.

“I approached them because they know where to get bottles. They set aside at least 20 bottles for me in exchange for cash.

“We help each other out, and that’s working well for both parties.”

Monyamane sells a set of three bottles for R200.

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