Although he has a bachelorâs degree in anthropology from Beloit College in Wisconsin, Lewis, 67, said he realized he wanted to be an independent studio artist after taking a bronze casting class and ultimately becoming a teacher at The Penland School of Craft near Spruce Pine.
âThatâs really where I learned the bronze casting and the blacksmithing and the welding and the metal sculpting,â Lewis said.
Before the pandemic, Lewis had been teaching on and off at the Sawtooth School for Visual Art. He is currently doing collaboration work with Mixxer, a makerspace, and Dent, a nonprofit that wants to reduce waste through the creative use of items, both in Winston-Salem.