In the cold and rainy month of March 2011 multimedia artist Marietta Patricia Leis was invited to be Artist in Residence by the Morris Graves Foundation. The Foundation and Residency was located at the northern California estate of the late renowned artist Morris Graves. An impressive visual artist, Graves was also a master at creating personal living environments of grace, peacefulness and beauty. The serenity of the Residency setting created by Graves prompted Leis to press her life's pause button. Living and working in this remarkable Japanese influenced studio and landscape of giant redwood trees and serene pond inspired Leis to express her time there in art and verse. The art and poems in Pausing reflect her tranquil state of being as she ensconced herself in the Graves milieu. Without modern electronic distractions it was a memorably simple time for Marietta. You will sense that simplicity in this elegant little volume perhaps encouraging you to consider your own "pause" button. Praise for Pausing...
Pausing is quite remarkable and beautiful. Some poems tug at me as works of art. What is evident in these pages are poems that are fun, moving and insightful. Engaging poems that feel right at home with the quality and brilliance of Marietta's visual art. - Dale Biron, author, Why We Do Our Daily Practices
Elegant in its simplicity, Pausing is a collection of art and poetry that responds to experience in a deeply aesthetic way. Leis gives us the peace of how light strikes water, subtle nuances of color with the emergence of tranquility. It is an unusually beautiful book. We are fortunate to share its vision. - Miriam Sagan, author, Seven Places in America: A Poetic Sojourn
Marietta's poems are full of quietness, stillness and the calmness of a lake. I love the book's simplicity of words and art and am especially thankful for the poem Japan's Havoc. Pausing is a treasure. - Taro Aizu, author, My Fukushima