From Snails to Tales

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 — “Clover’s Crafty Day” — based on her most cherished clay creatures: snails. 

Majoring in industrial and innovative design at Cedarville University, 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’s 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’s mind. Moving somewhat backward through the process, she started developing illustrations before she’d 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’s OK to be a beginner. 

“Everyone messes up on the first try, and that’s OK,” Eubank said. “That’s what practice is for.” She even saw this herself when creating her illustrations. While she was well-versed in 3-D modeling, drawing didn’t come naturally for her. It took her a while to develop her style — 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’s book contributes to the children’s book community, a community rich with meaning and messaging that touches the hearts of the young and old alike. 

Cedarville’s industrial and innovative design students spend their first two years at Cedarville University 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. 

“Katie’s always been a quiet leader,” said Jim Stevenson, a professor in the program and president of the ICC. “She’s very determined, and she has a unique perspective. She’s part of our student leadership group, and it’s been fun to see her taking that on and thriving in it.” 

Without the skills she developed at the ICC, Eubank wouldn’t 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. 

“I wanted to be creative and make art that has a purpose, being able to sell it and grow in my knowledge of business, too,” she said. “And this is the only Christian industrial design school, so that helped with my decision.” 

Of her coursework, she’s 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’s had to network with other students. 

In her ongoing business with the snails, Eubank continues making new designs — even creating custom orders like gingerbread men and ghosts. 

Her store is MiscellanyClay on Etsy, and she sells her book on both her Etsy store and Amazon.