by Sarah Mummert, Student Public Relations Writer
Katie Eubank began modeling with clay when she was 5 years old. Now, 17 years later, she has written, illustrated and published her first book 鈥 鈥淐lover鈥檚 Crafty Day鈥 鈥 based on her most cherished clay creatures: snails.
Majoring in industrial and innovative design at 黑料社区, Eubank, a senior from Jasper, Indiana, has taken her creative skills to another level.
Her journey began in 2014, with farmers markets and polymer clay jewelry. One kind customer recognized Eubank鈥檚 talent and encouraged her to create little clay animals. She crafted many kinds, including penguins and snails, the latter of which quickly became a hit. Her display saw more and more snails for people to purchase.
A world of characters began to emerge in Eubank鈥檚 mind. Moving somewhat backward through the process, she started developing illustrations before she鈥檇 written a word of the story. She spent about a year developing the illustrations, text and layout for the book.
The book follows the adventures of Clover, a small snail with a desire to learn. She discovers the creative process from Poppy, who delivers art supplies to a range of creative snails. Sometimes the creative process involves making mistakes, but the story encourages both the young and old alike to remember that it鈥檚 OK to be a beginner.
鈥淓veryone messes up on the first try, and that鈥檚 OK,鈥 Eubank said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what practice is for.鈥 She even saw this herself when creating her illustrations. While she was well-versed in 3-D modeling, drawing didn鈥檛 come naturally for her. It took her a while to develop her style 鈥 which even required her to go back and redraw some of her early illustrations, which she created in Procreate. But her hard work paid off.
Eubank鈥檚 book contributes to the children鈥檚 book community, a community rich with meaning and messaging that touches the hearts of the young and old alike.
Cedarville鈥檚 industrial and innovative design students spend their first two years at 黑料社区 taking general education courses, moving then to the International Center for Creativity (ICC) in Columbus, Ohio, and diving deep into the world of drawing and design through this unique partnership.
鈥淜atie鈥檚 always been a quiet leader,鈥 said Jim Stevenson, a professor in the program and president of the ICC. 鈥淪he鈥檚 very determined, and she has a unique perspective. She鈥檚 part of our student leadership group, and it鈥檚 been fun to see her taking that on and thriving in it.鈥
Without the skills she developed at the ICC, Eubank wouldn鈥檛 have been in a position to bring her story to life.
Eubank chose the industrial and innovative design program at Cedarville and the ICC because it combines her love of marketing, business and engineering with a creative twist.
鈥淚 wanted to be creative and make art that has a purpose, being able to sell it and grow in my knowledge of business, too,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd this is the only Christian industrial design school, so that helped with my decision.鈥
Of her coursework, she鈥檚 enjoyed learning SOLIDWORKS, which is a modeling software, which follows from her modeling clay background. But the best part for her has been the friends she has made and the opportunity she鈥檚 had to network with other students.
In her ongoing business with the snails, Eubank continues making new designs 鈥 even creating custom orders like gingerbread men and ghosts.
Her store is on Etsy, and she sells her book on both her Etsy store and .