Kafka, whose art training took a decidedly unconventional route, worked in brass, aluminum, stainless steel, copper, and titanium, as well as precious metals such as platinum, gold, and silver. Like many skilled Depression-era workers he found employment in the late 1930s as a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps, where he learned to weld. During a career spent as a welder at U.S. Steel, Ford Aircraft, and Argonne National Laboratories, Kafka began to create artwork in his spare time. New techniques learned on the job, such as heliarc welding – which allows for the bonding together of two extremely hard metals – translated into a wider range of methods for making art.