Eleanor Creekmore was born on February 7, 1931 in Knoxville, Tennessee. She completed her BA at the University of Tennessee in 1952 and later earned an MFA from the California College of Arts and Crafts (1982) and an MFA from Golden Gate University (1984). She also undertook postgraduate work at the San Francisco Art Institute (1960-1963) and at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere (1971). Dickinson spent most of her career at the California College of the Arts in Oakland, where she worked as an associate professor of art (1974-1984), as a professor of art (1984-2001), and as a professor emerita (2001-). She also served as the artist-in-residence at the University of Tennessee (1969), Arkansas State University (1993), the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco (2000), and the University of Alaska (1991).

Eleanor Creekmore married Ben Wade Oakes Dickinson on June 12, 1952 and the couple had three children: Mark Wade, Katherine Van Gilder, and Peter Somers. Eleanor died on February 25th, 2017. Eleanor Creekmore married Ben Wade Oakes Dickinson on June 12, 1952 and the couple had three children: Mark Wade, Katherine Van Gilder, and Peter Somers.