GRANNY'S BOTTLE VILLAGE

A message in bottles

Tressa 'Grandma' Prisbrey is the creator of the very flamboyant 'Bottle Village' in Simi Valley California. Tressa began to create her unusual home in 1956 when she was 60, she worked on the house up until 1981. Tressa transformed her 1/3 acre lot into a world of shrines, wishing wells, walkways and 15 life size structures. The name 'Bottle Village' comes from the materials she used. She paid daily visits to the dump where she collected unearthed bottles – she collected tens of thousand of bottles throughout the years. Tressa's hobby eventually turned into a small gold mine – a tour of the house will cost you 25 cents, and the tourguide is Tressa herself.

Bottle Village is not only a colorful and fun approach to recycling, it is also a bold and personal statement to the importance of the creative act in everyday life. Six of Tressa's seven children had sadly passed away, Bottle Village was, literally, a constructive approach to transforming discard and sorrow into something wonderful.

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See also:
BEER CAN HOUSE