Terri Dilling is a painter and printmaker, inspired by the beauty and complexity of the natural world. Her work evokes a landscape or garden, but also the microscopic worlds contained within. Dilling is interested in scientific perspectives and fascinated by the concept that physical matter is mostly empty space, comprised of smaller particles constantly in motion. Round shapes and dots in her work make reference to tiny atoms as well as flowers, even planetary systems, blurring the boundaries between micro and macro realms, and between representation and abstraction. The emphasis is on energy, cycles and movement.

Terri received a BA from Indiana University, a BFA Georgia State University, and has also studied visual arts in England, Spain, and Italy. She joined the effort to found the Atlanta Printmakers Studio, and currently serves as president. Dilling has received numerous grants and awards, and has been featured in a variety of publications including Studio Visit Magazine, New American Paintings, and FORM: Artistic Independence.

Terri Dilling joined our first round of visiting artists in 2011, and after a small solo show at the Portal Gallery in Atlanta in which she displayed her preliminary series of CCE inspired prints, she applied for further funding from the Center to create a larger show and develop a sculpture for the Atlanta Beltline. Her larger show, Connecting the Dots, was on display at the Spruill Gallery, a large community gallery just outside of Atlanta, for three months in 2012 and her Beltline sculpture displayed for 3 months on this highly trafficked walking path through Atlanta.

Attendees at Connecting the Dots indicated that the show was quite successful in communicating content knowledge and positive attitudes about chemistry. 74% of attendees indicated learning something new about chemistry, 93% said they felt the show taught them that chemistry could be engaging, and 96% agreed that the show demonstrated that complexity and function could arise from simple building blocks.

In December of 2012, Dilling's piece Emerge was selected for the cover of a special issue of Accounts of Chemical Research on Chemical Evolution, showing off our science/arts collaboration to a large audience of scientists.