Vicki Niolet

Since 1982, I've collected and reassembled found fragments of once valuable personal items. I've unburied treasures from flea markets and castaways, cabinet drawers, old frames, and abandoned furniture, sometimes using the condition of the "injured" article to create a theme. My altars and assemblages are filled with collages of metal, glass, and graphic images. I add handmade clay and cast paper components. Each construction is one of a kind. Most of my recurring symbols evolve from emotional icons, hearts, faces, and good luck tokens with hidden meanings. Some of the assemblages also include music box mechanisms for an additional dimension. I mix music with visual imagery, and add titles with satirical overtones to create "Habitats for Insanity." My hometown, Bay St. Louis, suffered a direct hit from Hurricane Katrina and it has affected the way I make art. Even though I've always used found objects in my work, I now subconsciously blend them with a sense of loss and images of water.