Through her degree and one happy accident, this Jackrabbit sculpted the career of her dreams.
Jackrabbits, and the difference they make, are everywhere. With our new Alumni Spotlight series, we'll be sharing stories of recent alumni - what they've been up to since graduation and how their SDSU experience shaped who they are today.
Next up: Grace Vanderbush
In fact, much of her daily career involves drawing inspiration from nature, communing with the Earth, and channeling that beauty into her own artwork.
A 2016 art education major, Grace can’t remember a time when she wasn’t drawing, painting, or sculpting. Following graduation from SDSU, she harbored a dream to fully support herself through her artwork. Two key factors would help set her apart from other artists: her fascination with Earth’s natural beauty and her inspired idea to use clay as a medium.
One could argue that Grace has been in business for well over a decade, as she recalls her first ventures into entrepreneurship selling her homemade clay magnets to friends and family at the age of 10. She found her way to SDSU in search of a practical degree that would still allow her to focus on art. While experimenting with clay, she stumbled upon a way to incorporate her love of landscapes and the natural world into truly unique pieces…and the rest is history.
Grace officially founded her business, Earth Clay, in 2019. Using clay to form miniature sculptures, much of her artwork includes “clayscapes” crafted painstakingly onto a pendant about the size of a coin.
On this small canvas, she captures everything from floral creations, towering mountains, sweeping canyons and valleys, and all manner of wonders from the great outdoors. Grace sculpts the breathtaking views she encounters in national parks across the United States, frequently spotted hand-making the delicate designs while set up at art festivals around the nation. She’s also expanded into caps, clay portraits, and other types of jewelry.
Though Grace’s work often takes her near and far to refuel her creative energy, we managed to catch up with her to learn more about her sculptures. While our pleas for her to design a clay Campanile landscape aren’t in the cards, traces of her journey at SDSU are found in every piece she crafts: from the business partner (and spouse) she met at State, the fundamentals of art she learned along the way, and the faith that she believes led her to making the first clay necklace that would ultimately change her life.
My mom homeschooled me until middle school and encouraged my fascination with creating artwork. I loved my childhood because I could spend my days exploring different art mediums. She encouraged me to join 4-H, where I was able to find success in bringing my artwork to our county and state fair. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the encouragement, prayers, and support of my mom!
The thing I love the most about what I create is, at the time I sculpted the very first Earth Clay necklace, I did so completely by accident. I had never seen anything like it before! I have always prayed that I would be able to find a way to create art and support myself, and the first necklace I sculpted felt like a little nudge from God, like, “This is it!”
I continued to make more, and, to my surprise, people wanted to buy them! I opened an Etsy shop and reached out to some different shops and, from there, it continued to grow. It was a very slow start, but in 2019, I started selling my miniature sculpture jewelry to a few of the national park visitor centers and continue to expand into more parks today!
Every day is different, and that’s why I love it! During the first few months of the year, my days are filled with creating artwork for our upcoming art festival season, filling wholesale orders, online orders, and developing new products with my husband, Jordan (who I met at SDSU)! Jordan joined Earth Clay full-time in fall 2022, and it’s been a dream come true to combine his design skills with my artistry. June through October is our art festival season, so that time of the year is completely different! We travel all over the country to art festivals where we sell our artwork. For the festivals where we aren’t in the Midwest, we plan them to be near different national parks so we can visit the parks and hike before and after the festival. This is, by far, the coolest part of my job!
Putting together my senior show was one of the coolest experiences I had at SDSU. We were paired together with small groups of other senior art majors and had to plan, prepare, and display our art in Grove Hall. We displayed our work made over the years at SDSU and had to present our gallery to our professors, as well as attend our gallery open house. At the time, I didn’t know how many of the things I learned to do during the preparation of my senior show would impact my future, but I use the skills acquired during that project every time I set up my booth at an art festival!
The most influential thing I encountered at SDSU was by far the campus ministries. I became involved in Cru and Oasis and made amazing friends and memories there. Both college ministries were very impactful in my life, and I am forever grateful to SDSU for those two organizations!
Meeting my husband, Jordan - My roommate introduced us during my last week of class on campus before moving home to student teach, and it was love at first sight!
I am forever grateful for the friends I met at SDSU and the way my faith was impacted during the time I was there. I know it helped shape the person I am today.
If there’s one thing the Foundation team took away from Grace’s art, it’s the ability to see nature through fresh eyes – and the uncanny ability of SDSU to point Jackrabbits to the careers that suit them best.
“I honestly can’t believe I get to create artwork every day,” she says. “There are a lot of things I love about my job, but the fact that my artwork brings others joy is very rewarding.”
There’s much the Jackrabbit family can learn from Grace’s artwork and appreciation for nature. The next time we find ourselves in a national park, or even in the beauty of our own backyards, we might just find ourselves inspired to follow Grace’s lead and take a hike.
Like what you see? You can find Grace’s work online or at her Etsy shop, EarthClayCo. To ensure the wellbeing of the parks that inspire her, 10% of all profits are donated to The National Park Foundation.
