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Mosaic artist Vicki Menge turns everyday objects into works of art

It started with a mirror. Five years ago, town of Greenville resident Vicki Menge was looking to do a mosaic for herself and created a reflective piece to hang on her wall. Soon after, she was hooked on assembling materials to create different forms of artwork.

A technical illustrator by day, Menge is no stranger to dabbling in the arts. She previously created and sold custom jewelry and wholesale pieces — including pins, necklaces and earrings — 25 years ago for art shows. Creating art has always been a bit of a side project for Menge, she says.

She currently has her mosaic work available online through an Etsy shop, Victoria’s Mosaics, but hopes to start showing more of her work at shows in Milwaukee, Cedarburg and Madison, along with doing more custom pieces.

As Menge notes, her work can range from “something that’s practical or usable, and then there’s just art.”

Vicki Menge

Her work has included mirrors, decorative wall hangings, stepping stones, signage, table tops and more.

She finds her beads, vintage jewelry, stained glass and found objects of any kind at thrift and rummage sales. There is not just one type of medium Menge works with and she creates one-of-a-kind pieces out of porcelain clay, along with purchased and repurposed tiles.

Menge originally went to school for fashion design and ended up with a fine arts degree. Her love of fashion still finds its way into her work.

“Fashion is kind of in my brain,” she says.

Pieces range in the amount of time they take Menge to create depending on size and detail, she explains. Grouting also takes additional time as well.

“I have to clean it and make sure it looks good,” Menge adds.

Sometimes ideas strike Menge in the evening as she tries to fall asleep.

“It comes from everywhere, wherever I’m looking, nature,” she says. Shapes, colors, subjects and other artists also influence and inspire Menge.

She is currently contemplating starting to work with cement to create flower pots and lawn ornaments from scratch. She does have her own small kiln in her home studio and would love to merge her interest for pottery and mosaics together. She’s also thinking of working with more furniture and resin pieces.

For more information, contact Menge through Victoria’s Mosaics or [email protected].