Marietta Patricia Leis

Poet and interdisciplinary artist focusing on works that reference nature, Marietta Patricia Leis was born in Newark, New Jersey and raised in East Orange in an Italian family. As a child she studied ballet, modern dance, and acting before moving to New York City after graduating high school in 1957. In New York City she continued to study acting and dance while she worked a variety of temporary jobs and as an actress and dancer Off-Broadway and in experimental films and television. Leis then moved to Los Angeles where she began focusing more on visual arts rather than performing. She moved to New Mexico in 1982 to earn her MA and MFA in studio art at the University of New Mexico. Her work is in collections including the Harwood Museum of Art and the Fort Smith Convention Center, Arkansas.