The heat and pine trees of Julie Umberger's southern upbringing influence the energy of her art making practices. She has kept a glue gun and scissors in hand since childhood and has yet to have found better tools in her creative process. Umberger graduated with a BFA in Studio Art in 2009 from Valdosta State University. Currently, she resides in Columbus, Georgia and actively creates analog paper collages from discarded magazines and book pages in order to create new scenarios, combining old images with bold new ones so that a new story may come to life. Focusing primarily on the female figure, the story often revolves around her actions and identity. Working from original papers, Umberger enjoys the risk-taking aspect of one chance to send a message with pictures. Ranging from serious to whimsical, ultimately the visual is a representation of whatever connection she has thematically to the image. "I make things with the hope of beautifying a space or processing emotion. If nothing else, to have an onlooker say, 'I can do that' and encourage them to make something of their own."