Artist and educator, Nancy Baur Dillen is Professor of Art at Brevard Community College (BCC) in Melbourne, Florida.

Nancy was born and grew up in Quincy, a small town in rural north Florida, where she attended public schools. She continued her education at Florida State University in Tallahassee attaining her M.A. in Art Education and Constructive Design in 1971. After graduation, Nancy moved to Melbourne, Florida where she became an art instructor at BCC.

With her excellent background in art, Nancy already had a head start toward establishing herself in the art community. As an educator, she has had the opportunity to work with and influence the art programs on all levels. Since she has been at BCC, she has gained the respect of her colleagues by expanding the art program from a one-person function to an eight-person department. She has taught a variety of courses ranging from drawing to pottery. She has been a guest lecturer, juror, exchange instructor, and art consultant both nationally and internationally.

As an artist, Nancy has been intrigued with landscape and its relationship to the individual. Over time, she has explored art through different media. Using her vocabulary of symbols, she makes a statement on contemporary society.

Working and living in a bureaucratic society, Nancy has experienced concern and heard others discuss their frustrations with the “system.” She has seen a quiet, easy-going, seaside environment “discovered” and altered by developers. Hasty changes, fears for change and a growing lack of trust for the individual in the community have demonstrated a paranoia which she feels is prevalent in today’s society as a whole.

Nancy’s current series of work in oils treats these concerns by placing symbols found in the local environment against the intense color and open space of Florida and other places she has visited. The intensity of color and contrast found in Nancy’s work reflect her single-mindedness. To her, art and teaching are one. Each challenges the other to see the world in a new light.

Nancy and her husband Rick Dillen reside in Melbourne, Florida.