Laura Cockerille Giannini
My blogs
| Gender | Female |
|---|---|
| Industry | Arts |
| Occupation | Artist/ Author/Poet... |
| Location | Central Virginia, Virginia, United States |
| Introduction | Laura Cockerille Giannini, author of The Kokopelli Journals, “A Southwest (mis)adventure of Discovery, Compassion, Empowerment… & Mischief” was for 25 years a renowned animal portrait artist in Virginia. In late 2005 she added ‘published author’ to her résumé with her epic narrative non-fiction story - which she illustrated - about a trip that she & her husband, Peter, planned through the Four Corners immediately post 9/11 – their 25th Anniversary. In their travels she found a Navajo rez puppy starving to death in Monument Valley. Saving this winsome pup – who came to be known as Kokopelli – ultimately led to Laura becoming wanted by the law in Arizona in 2001.
Laura quietly closed her studio in 2002, researching the Southwest to weave its background in retelling their incredible layered journey through life on the heels of 9/11. She spent 3-½ intense years writing, illustrating & editing The Kokopelli Journals, then set up “Wild West Woman” Publications to self-publish her odyssey. |
| Interests | Nature & gardening; horses as pets - & occasionally to ride, when I slow down long enough; journaling & reflections on life; long walks/hikes in great open lands; slow swims in quiet pools; full-moon nights; campfires/bonfires; about any sort of animal fascinates me; open, caring, involved people who respect the earth; our National Parks & Wildlife Areas... & places that outta' be...; hiking through same w/ plenty of time & film &/or a sketch pad; plenty of time to create in the studio when the Zen is alive & well & the colors are just singing...; crosswords/ thought-provoking movies & really good music... |
| Favorite Movies | Out of Africa, The Electric Horseman, My Cousin Vinny, Fried Green Tomatoes, Dances w/ Wolves, Driving Miss Daisy, Sneakers, The Horse Whisperer (Okay, face it... just about anything Robert Redford has done...), Thelma & Louise, The Big Chill, The Spitfire Grill, the Shrek series, Gone with the Wind, Waking Ned Devine, Grand Canyon, The Pelican Brief & A Runaway Jury, A River Runs Through It, The Upside of Anger... the list goes on... & I plan to soon add our own movie - the story from our book - Kokopelli's Journey (or some such name) |
| Favorite Music | Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler's music over the years, most of Greg Brown's work, Emmy Lou Harris, Bruce Springsteen, Eliza Gilkyson, Eric Clapton, Leonard Cohen, The Be Good Tanyas, The Highwaymen: Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings & Kris Kristofferson (including most of his old stuff...), Santana, Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald, Bonnie Raitt, Sarah, McLachlan, the Indigo Girls, Jack Johnson, Melissa Etheridge, Chris Isaak, Ottmar Liebert, Chris Botti, Sheryl Crow, Fleetwood Mac, Kenny G (yes, him... the man can play that saxophone!), Ray Charles, The Cowboy Junkies, Van Morrison, The soundtrack to Chicago, Donovan, Bruce Cockburn, America, Devon Sproule & Paul Curreri (a young up & coming Ch'ville couple...), all sorts of Native American music... the list goes on... |
| Favorite Books | The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran; Out of Africa by Issak Dinesen; The Tree Where Man was Born/ The African Experience (a collaboration by Peter Matthiesson & Eliot Porter); At Play in the Fields of the Lord by Peter Matthiesson; Illusions by Richard Bach; Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell; I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya D'Angelou; The Awakening by Kate Chopin; On the Wings of the Dove by Henry James; The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; the Desiderata; Barbara Delinsky & Anne Rivers Siddon stories; Barbara Kingsolver's work... & the list goes on... |
Why is there so much violence & hatred to do such harm to one another, when we might channel these energies of fear into energies to love & understanding, instead? It's the add-age old question of the light or the dark side... what will the choice be? Ultimately, our world is at stake.