Everyday Artists at UMich: Julia Finley

“I started painting near the end of elementary school. It became a more intense hobby; first, it was just something me and my friends did. Then it became a solace for me whenever I was stressed, or had anxiety: I would go paint. 

I study biomedical engineering,  . . . and a lot of my interest in that came from classes I took in high school. As art has become more of a big part of my life, I’ve noticed that I need to do it for my job, so I’ve looked into more of the design based BME type things. I did an internship at a medical device company, and they taught us the basics of the design process. A lot of it is really just graphic design; people are basically doing art all day, just sketching and drawing and stuff. 

I’d like to think my interests in arts and engineering will overlap soon. Engineering is a bit of a stressor right now. The art is getting away from all that. I know I’ll love it when it’s my job, but right now it’s just a lot of work. I was a Girl Scout for all of high school, and I made art a big part of that. When you’re a Girl Scout for that long, you can kinda do what you want with it, and so I started teaching it to younger girls and making it a part of meetings. I like teaching. I’ve always joked around that if the engineering doesn’t work out, I want to be an art teacher, but it’s not really a joke. I’d maybe do it as an old grandma. I’ll retire and be an art teacher.”