Terri Dilling received a BA from Indiana University and a BFA from Georgia State University. As the child of a German mother and an American father, she grew up loving culture and travel, leading her to attend art programs in England, South Africa, Spain and Italy. With an interest in science, she was awarded project grants to work with scientists from the Center for Chemical Evolution to create related exhibitions. All of these experiences continue to influence her art. Terri has received numerous grants and awards, and has been featured in several professional publications, including Studio Visit Magazine and New American Paintings. She has exhibited both nationally and internationally, and her work is in collections around the world, including the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, the City of Atlanta, Fidelity Investments, UPS, Four Seasons Hotel Marrakech, Morocco and Conrad Hilton Hong Kong. Terri helped found the Atlanta Printmakers Studio and served on the board for many years. She has devoted time to non-profits such as the Hambidge Center for the Arts and Burnaway, and organizes residencies for professional artists. She also has many years of graphic design experience. Based in Atlanta, she lives with her husband Jon and her two dogs. Artist Statement: I am inspired by the beauty and complexity of the natural world, making reference to the landscape around us, and also an emotional landscape within. I am interested in using gestural marks and color relationships to express a mood or feeling. I want to create a calming visual space that also has elements of energy and contrast. For me, this is a way to find serenity, rejuvenation and balance. My paintings are predominantly acrylic paint with additional drawing materials like charcoal and pigment crayon. As I paint intuitively, some elements get covered over while others are pulled forward, and the finished painting contains a rich, layered history. My artistic lineage comes from Abstract Expressionism, especially its focus on conveying emotion with bold, spontaneous marks. I also relate to the softness of Impressionism, with lyrical landscapes full of color and light. I combine these things through my own visual vocabulary to give the work a contemporary context with connections to cultural and environmental issues.