HOUSE OF DREAMS

The House of Dreams Museum began in 1998, and is a diary of my life. Initially it was inspired by the TV programme 'Journeys into the Outside', presented by Jarvis Cocker, about Outsider Art Environments. The museum is about my legacy, and has many messages and collections incorporated inside it. The museum deals with my life, love, loss, childhood bullying, moving forward after trauma and joy. All of the things many of us have to deal with in life. It also reflects my love of travelling, particularly in India and Mexico, combined with my love of Paris. Many of the thousands of objects in the museum I have collected from those locations. I mosaic, stick, and stitch objects into the walls and ceilings. There are hundreds of hand written 'memory boards' reflecting momentous events in my life, combined with my thoughts about life, overheard conversations on public transport, political commentaries and random thoughts. There are thousands of broken dolls in the museum and garden, collected from Budapest, Prague and Madrid. The House of Dreams is a home for the discarded and unwanted. My House of Dreams Museum has been bequeathed to the National Trust of Great Britain.

THE DENTED FACED DOLL

Detail of the shrine in the museum. The dented faced doll (which incidently is one of my favourite in the whole house) was bought from Deptford market. It had been run over by a car.

TEETH MOULDS & GLASSES

Collections of glasses from junk markets in Paris and teeth moulds donated to the museum.

PART OF MY FAMILY

Two sculptures I have assembled for the museum. They are part my family.

SIAMESE TWINS

The 2 doll heads were bought together in a flea market in Paris called Vanves. As they were bought together they felt like they needed to be made into a Siamese twin sculpture. The sculpture is entitled 'One is called Blossom the other isn't'. In the background we have the 'White bride sculpture'.

SHRINE

This shrine is a combination of collected objects mostly from Mexico dispearsed with objects I have made myself ie the red glitter faced doll in the box, which was made for an exhibition for Mencap in 2014.

FEELINGS

This text in this picture describes how I feel about the House of Dreams, my work, and my artistic life journey. I sometimes don't have a clue what I am doing and why. I only know it's the right thing for me to do.

LITTLE BLACK PURSE

After my mum had passed on I had to sort her things out. I was going through her handbag and found a little black purse with minature light bulbs and screwed up bits of silver paper. I don't know what they were saved for. I left they as they were found and attached them to a sculpture in the museum.

MIDDLE ROOM

DEAR WORLD

On the left of the picture is the detail of a column in the museum. It forms part of an archway. The 'Memory Board' to the right is self explanatory.

LITTLE BLUE & WHITE LION

Close up of the wall in the museum. The battered little blue and white lion was dug up in our back garden in Shavington by my dad when I was a kid. It is also trapped behind glass.

VICTORIAN FARING

A close up of the wall in the museum. In the centre of the picture is a Victorian faring which I bought many years ago at an antique fair in Nantwich in Cheshire. It is trapped behind glass.

BACK ROOM

PONYTAIL

A very recent donation (January 2016) to the museum. A ponytail which one once belonged to actor Richard Ashton.