Birgit Zipser’s paintings capture the beauty of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and reflect her close, personal bond with its landscapes. She sketches and takes photos to study the dunes’ shapes and the play of light, shadow, and wildlife, then turns these moments into oil paintings.
From her time in New Mexico, she learned from Pueblo and Navajo communities the idea of honoring nature. Now in Michigan, she keeps that same spirit alive on early morning walks along Lake Michigan in the Sleeping Bear National Seashore.
Her paintings have won prizes and appeared in juried shows such as the Dennos Museum in Traverse City, the Oliver Art Center in Frankfort, both in Michigan, and the Spring Studio SoHo in New York City.
Her work has been featured in The Art of the Sleeping Bear Dunes (Leelanau Press, 2013) and The Artists’ Round Table (Mitchell Graphics, Petoskey, MI, 2016).
Science background: B.S. from Columbia University; Ph.D. in Neurosciences from Albert Einstein College of Medicine; founding director of James Watson’s Neuroscience Program at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory; sabbatical with Candace Pert at NIH; Mathilde Solowey Award in Neurosciences; and Professor of Physiology at Michigan State University.
Born: in Germany as Birgit Ostermann; professionally known as Birgit Zipser.
Home: Empire Township, MI.