Born in 1943 in Decatur, Illinois, but raised in the small town of Sullivan, Gary Lee Noffke is a metalsmith known for his technical versatility and intricate surface treatment. Bored in school, Noffke kept himself entertained with drawing and decided to pursue painting once enrolled at Eastern Illinois University, Charleston. He completed his BS in 1965 and continued on an additional year, earning his MS in education in 1966. Noffke then entered the MA program in painting at the University of Iowa, but transferred to Southern Illinois University, Carbondale for its more intimately scaled metal program (MFA, 1969). Noffke cites his painting professor Carl Shull at Eastern Illinois University and metal professor L. Brent Kington at Southern Illinois University as major mentors. After teaching for several years at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, and California State College in Los Angeles, he accepted a position at the University of Georgia, Athens in 1971. He retired as a professor emeritus in 2001 after three decades heading its metals program. Unlike many metalsmiths who specialize in one aspect of the field, Noffke works across disciplines, creating jewelry, knives, and hollowware – all while consistently pursuing technical innovation. He has exhibited widely, including a 2011 solo retrospective at the Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina. His work can be found in permanent collections, including that of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York and the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He was selected to complete an oral history interview for the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art in 2010 and was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of North American Goldsmiths in 2016. Gary Lee Noffke was elected a Fellow of the American Craft Council in 2001.