Remembering Blake Smith: The art professor who touched NGU
Photo Courtesy of Haley De Gonzalez
Treasure Hardwick, News and Feature Editor
Blake Smith, a beloved art professor for over 20 years at North Greenville University, is remembered as a steady and godly man in the community who worked tirelessly for his students to succeed.
Smith, who passed away on June 17, 2025, at age 48, taught drawing, sculpture and photography at NGU.
Blake earned a bachelors in visual arts from Lander University, and a master of fine arts from Clemson University in 2002. He began working at NGU as an adjunct professor in 2003.
He was a talented in photography, wood carving, ceramics and drawing.
Smith displayed his work all over the world, but most often at ArtBomb Studios in Greenville. His art usually depicted memory, family and loss. He used old photos and objects to create new stories and give forgotten materials fresh life.
While his creative work reached audiences beyond the NGU community, Smith was best known for the impact he made in the classroom as a professor and as a colleague.
Callie Meyerholtz, senior art major at NGU, had Smith as a professor every semester since her freshmen year. She took drawing, sculpture and photography classes with him. Her years of class time with Smith gave her a front row seat to his fun teaching style and deep care for his students.
Meyerholtz described Smith as an anchor in the art department, and as a man full of joy who always knew how to make his students laugh, no matter how challenging the class he was teaching.
“He was a very steady man. You could always rely on kind his words and teachings,” Meyerholtz said. “He was also a good listener.”
Along with his steadiness, Meyerholtz explained that Smith was a challenging professor who encouraged his students to put forth their best work. But he never burdened them with unrealistic expectations or harshly graded work.
“I always walked into his classes saying ‘I know I’m going to learn. I know I’m going to prosper in this class. He’s going to challenge me but also, I’m going to be rewarded,’” Meyerholtz said. “He knew what we could accomplish, and he wanted to push us to do that without being like, ‘I expect the world.’”
Beyond his lectures, Meyerholtz explained that Smith kept the classroom lighthearted and humorous. He often put silly art puns on his office door, shared dad jokes and laughed with students about small mishaps, including the time she spilled an energy drink in class.
Outside of his influence on students, Smith’s impact was also deeply felt by his coworkers.
Haley De Gonzalez, art professor at NGU, worked alongside Smith for several years. She remembered him as a valuable colleague whose warm personality and joy made him an integral part of in the department.
De Gonzalez explained that she’d often poked her head inside Smith’s door to make a funny remark or to just say hello. Many times she ended up staying for an hour, laughing and chatting about the most random things with him.
“The dynamic was just so fun,” De Gonzalez said. “He was always there for me when I had questions, and his door was always open.”
De Gonzalez noted that his joyful personality and willingness to help in every situation was evidence of his faith and love for Jesus Christ.
“You could see the love of Christ shining through him always,” she said.
