“The idea that craft is important to the well being of our culture is important to me.” Gary Noffke, a retired professor of art at the University of Georgia, has influenced a nationwide generation of metalsmiths as an innovator, mentor and artist philosopher. A master who has forced materials and traditional techniques into totally new forms and methods, he has provided other metals artists with new means for creative expression.

Place—rural Georgia—has been important to Noffke. The rural community is similar to where he grew up and the work ethic and presumptions of rural life are in line with his