The Pout, self-portrait, 2019, oil on canvas, Jo Brunini
Jo Brunini, a carefree spirit and true child of the 1960s, is a talented literary writer and passionate artist. A love of the natural world influences her work. Born and raised in Burlington, VT, she has lived in Italy and Mexico, while traveling across the world. At age 19 she dropped out of university, left home, and took a Greyhound Bus cross-country to California, eventually landing in the Yucatan, where she lived among a Maya community. At age 20 she became pregnant – and kept her baby against her parents’ wishes. Twenty-five years ago, she traveled to China and adopted a child. In addition to raising four children, she has hosted a half dozen foreign exchange students each for a year at a time, including ones from Germany, Italy, and Ecuador. When she is not painting or writing, she is tending to her passions of dogs, yoga, wildlife treks, running, and time by the sea. She has a BS in Education from the University of Vermont, and taught briefly in Vermont, and in Rome, Italy. She has been published by several publications, including Your Tango, appeared on the podcast Face2Face with David Peck, and regularly posts to her blog, www.giovannabrunini.com, where her paintings and poetry are found. She resides in Vermont. Never a Cloud is her debut novel.
"Even clouds have character. A careful observer can only know the sky if they have taken the time to live beneath it."
—Jo Brunini, Never a Cloud