NOT YOUR TYPICAL INTERNSHIP

The Sewell Studio interns live and work on the 17 acre Art Estate in Haiku, Hawaii. The perfect location where inspiration, creation, and discovery culminate in a fully immersive internship experience. The Sewell Studio internship is much more than just work; it is a family of friends that foster growth, learning, and exploration together.  Interns are encouraged to adventure and experience the beautiful island of Maui, and to absorb the infinite inspiration. Studio projects include every discipline of design and creativity, and focus on the story of amazing experience. Interns are fully involved in the Studio lifestyle and are also encouraged to develop and work on personal projects during their time on Maui.

Alyssa Vandergriff, Intern Class of 2023

"I could never have imagined how much I learned in Maui on the Sewell Estate. Even now, I find it hard to articulate the kind of character-building lessons I learned indirectly. I was able to observe and test out new ways of being, to be set on fire, to be made bigger. To believe that there was a whole new world out there that I could be a part of if only I could be bold. Somehow, I outgrew the person I thought I wanted to be, and came out of it feeling more myself, only more vivid. Thank you, thank you, thank you (many, many times over) dear Tom. It's been absolutely splendid."

- Ann Mur, Intern Class of 2015

Tom,

Working with you has been a life changing experience. I feel like I’ve been given a great gift. I now feel more at peace with myself. Additionally, I feel like a have a better attitude about life in general. I am honored that you took me under your wing. I will always value you as a mentor.

One of the areas I am the least competent is my social skills. Observing your actions carefully, I was able to learn them from the master. Previously I did not make an effort to seek out many friends. I now see the joy and inherent worth of having many friends after having seen the intellectual and spiritual support they provided. I will certainly continue to make a conscious effort to work on my social skills to build up my own network of friends.

Before coming I also did not lead a very healthy lifestyle. I ate a lot of frozen and canned food. I definitely had been getting less exercise than in my teenage years too. I think that my body is still pretty good, but I know it could be a slippery slope later in life. Thank goodness I learned how to cook, eat healthier, and have an exercise routine. It might seem like I could have learned these things anywhere, but I really needed a paradigm change to see these things. I will continue to work on living a healthy lifestyle and possibly even try eating some more vegetables at some point.

I will always be fascinated with your sugar mill sculptures. Although I had seen photographs of the sugar mill sculptures before I came to your estate, I never realized that the patterns on them were not made by you, but by the sugar mill. I look forward to seeing your property when the size and number of sculptures increases. In the future, I will certainly publish a book about them. I can see them becoming a monument on the level of the Watts Towers. I admire how you have been able to take materials, which would be considered ugly pieces of scrap metal by most people, and display them in such a way that allows others to see their intrinsic beauty. In some sculptures the incorporation of trash is a gimmick, since you notice it is trash when you see it. In contrast, when one sees your sculptures from the sugar mill, trash never comes to mind.

Your optimistic outlook no doubt has allowed you to create these works in addition to your other artistic endeavors. I have observed how you have taken bad things that happen to you in life and turn them around to make them good things. You create your own good luck. It doesn’t just happen by chance. Seeing this has been such a great inspiration.

Thanks for being such a great role model to me!

- Jeff M. Jones, Intern Class of 2014

LET'S DO THIS.

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