Hails from: I was born in Italy, then moved to Ohio, where my father was employed. An art professor recommended that I study at Walker Art Center, which had a school at the time. I liked the people and I wanted to get better acquainted so … I decided it was the place to stay.

Background with sculpture: In the army in WWII, I was an interpreter in Italy for the Allied  Military Government—to protect art that could have been stolen while Italian territories were being taken by the Germans. It was perhaps my most important education: to see what was behind the door—what was being protected from the war itself. When exposed to all those beautiful sculptures, I realized that is what I should concentrate on. Also, I was very physical. The only thing to satisfy my total self was to exercise my imagination through creativity, and at the same time, wrestle with the real materials. I also felt frustration to touch something at the end of the brush; I have to touch it with my own hands.

About Caponi Art Park: I bought this sixty acres of land in Eagan the year I started teaching art at Macalester College, 1949. Without thinking about it, I was trying to recreate my childhood; appreciating things that I had (hills), and things that I lacked (trees). I ended up making up this art park and learning center, because I wanted to bring people back to nature. It is the foundation of all the arts, the inspiration. From there, I could not only share what I have but remind people that creativity is not a restricted activity for the artist; it is for everybody. That is what makes art important to me; it makes better people.