A purple deer with a dollhouse tucked inside its torso. A glowing bay window emerging from its neck. A spiral staircase leading to a dining table perched on its antlers. In Brooke Weston’s work, discarded taxidermy becomes the setting for intricate miniature worlds that invite you to look closer.

In this episode of the Permanent Record Podcast, we sit down with the mixed media artist behind these surreal creations to explore what she calls “fantasy taxidermy.” Working with old, damaged mounts, Brooke combines restoration, sculpture, miniatures, and interior design to build detailed scenes inside animals. She takes us through the painstaking process, from hollowing out forms and repairing hides to constructing tiny rooms, and explains how the physical limitations of each piece often lead her somewhere entirely unexpected.

Brooke also traces her creative roots to a rural California childhood spent collecting bones and building little scenes inside trees. She reflects on discovering punk and goth culture, experimenting with dollhouses inside mannequins, and spending years in restaurant work while longing to return to art. In a candid discussion about sobriety, perfectionism, and her inner critic, she shares how reclaiming her creativity helped her build a life around the work she wanted to make.

Along the way, we talk oddities, the appeal of miniature spaces, and the criticism her artwork draws from people who misunderstand her materials and methods. It’s a conversation about giving forgotten objects another life, and finding the courage to take your own imagination seriously.