Joe Lewis is a very happy guy. Why? Well, you might think it's because he is now on 1-1/2-year sabbatical from his job at UC Irvine's Claire Trevor School of the Arts. But here's the real reason he's happy: After an 18-year hiatus that took him from a full-time role as a classroom teacher into college administration (and a recent tour as the school's dean), he's headed back to the classroom full-time next January. And he couldn't be more pleased about his approaching career change.
His excitement is infectious when he describes his upcoming courses. "Currently I'm scheduled to teach 'The Book as Art Object," he says. "Students will make artist books, 'public art,' conceptual development, model-making, proposals and presentations." The second course on his schedule is "a general education course titled, 'But is it Art?", where I look at all the odd things artists make and do."
Meanwhile, Joe, Phuong and their “rambunctious” son Joseph S. Lewis IV are enjoying life in Southern California -- "until the well runs dry."
“Life is a gift,” says Joe. So true.