Nicolette Sipperly PhD

I am a teacher, painter, scientist, gardener and plant diversity chief. All of my work is driven by the companionship I have found through plants, the constant call of my body for my attention and movement and my belief in the strength of human creativity.

For eight years as a scientist, my love for plants and voice of my body brought me to the beauty and rigorous exploration of vast mountain ranges and the wild flower blooms. I painted plants along the way. In my science presentation practice, I use paintings and storytelling to share my experience of the plant world as I learned more about them and self expression through my research. Learning to see myself as a part of nature liberated me from cages of constant worry and isolation that lead to addictive habits, anxiety and depression. The time I spent in purposeful solitude with trees, mountains and rivers deepened my connection to nature and my desire to share that connection through art and science.

After college, continuous joint injuries directed me to mat-based exercise instead of depending on my daily run. Consistently, and even while on my cross-country trips and 10-mile hiking days, I prioritized intentional mat-based movements each day. Always experimenting with new movement, new teachers and routines. In the beginning, my goal was to achieve the “fatless” ideal that was planted in my mind by working out with excessive high intensity movements and disordered eating. When I found my self in that body, the adrenal overdrive had injured my whole physical and mental system. I began to learn how to listen to my body and to trust its resilience. I found my way to a focused exercise, bringing to love to my physical body and useing the sense of aliveness I generate through movements to connect more presently the world around me.

My movement practice incorporates plant and earth medicine through moving mediation, somatic release, TA method and Pilates. I infuse dance and playful expression as the connective tissue of all of my movements. I prioritize graceful and powerful movements to strengthen the internal wild.