Sarah Walko's artwork is an abundance of objects she assembled to make a statement.

Her work in sculpture and installation-based artwork is built from objects she found and created.

For example, in a multimedia piece she calls "Potential Raft," she used driftwood, palm bark, dock rope and an audio track of water lapping to create an image of a potential raft.

"I am interested in creating a dialog between the physical world and the celestial world... " said Ms. Walko, speaking from Savannah, Ga., where she exhibits her work and works as assistant curator for Savannah College of Art and Design.

Ms. Walko, 27, who grew up in Mt. Lebanon, will hold an exhibit next month at ArtSpace 303 in Homestead.

The exhibit, "The Inside of Numbers," will run from Jan. 7 to Jan. 28 at the gallery on 303 E. Eighth Ave.

After graduating from Mt. Lebanon High School in 1996, Ms. Walko earned a bachelor of arts in painting from the University of Maryland. She returned to Pittsburgh and lived in Shadyside for a short time before moving south to Savannah.

There, she earned her master's in fine arts from the Savannah College of Art and Design, where she now works.

"I have both of my degrees in painting, but I don't know how to paint," joked Ms. Walko, whose work is a cornucopia of objects -- glass, plants, hair, false teeth, feathers, book parts, photographs.

Ms. Walko said she always wanted to be an artist and was always "making things," even as a child.

"I still don't know what kind of artist I want to be," said Ms. Walko, who described herself as free-thinking and always out of the mainstream.

"I just never fit in," she said.

She likes Savannah because it is "a huge town of artists, " many of whom are students at the college. But she doesn't plan to stay there.

"This is a transitory place for me," said Ms. Walko, who plans to migrate back north pretty soon. She is thinking about trying New York City.

She learned about ArtSpace 303 by reading the Carnegie Mellon University Web site.

She hopes that this show in Homestead will help her start making her way north again.

While home for the exhibit, Ms. Walko will be visiting relatives, including her mother, Gene Walko, of Mt. Lebanon.

The opening reception will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Jan. 7. The gallery will be open from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

First Published: December 29, 2005, 5:00 a.m.