Bottle Village is a national and internationally recognized Folk Art treasure created by Tressa “Grandma” Prisbrey.
“The intensity and immediacy of Tressa Prisbrey’s expression recalls Goethe’s description of folk art: like a word of God spoken this instant.”
— Esther McCoy 1974
“Bottle Village is one of the woman-made wonders of the world,”...”It’s an example right under our noses of mid-20th-century alchemy, of a woman with no formal training or education who created this magical garden out of discarded flotsam and jetsam.”
— Richard Posner , Glass Artist
Bottle Village
HISTORIC IMAGES
Seymour Rosen 1972
Andrea Hassiba 1981
Elizabeth Driscoll Smith 2023
F. Scott Schafer 2025
Margaret Littman
ABOUT
Beginning construction in 1956, at age 60, and working until 1981, Tressa “Grandma” Prisbrey transformed her one-third acre rural lot into Bottle Village, an extensive fantasyland of shrines, wishing wells, mosaic walkways, fountains, follies, plus 15 structures to house her collections – all made from found objects. The name “Bottle Village” comes from the structures themselves – made from tens of thousands of discarded bottles. Bottle Village was a hobby Grandma enjoyed and shared with anyone who would pay a quarter for a walking tour. This art piece is protected, and registered as a county, state, and federal treasure — Ventura County Landmark, California State Historical Landmark # 939, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. In 2025, it was named an Affiliate Member of Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Photo Credits:
Andrea Hassiba 1981
Seymour Rosen 1974
Elizabeth Driscoll Smith 2023
Margaret Littman 2025