Wow! Hello everybody!! I am so beyond excited to join you in this adventure!!!
Seriously, every time I think about it I get this silly smile on my face(:
I’m Eive (pronounced Ava, Ay-vaah) it has the funky spelling because I’m Lithuanian.
I mostly grew up in Tucson, AZ. In the desert at the base of Mt Lemmon.
I currently reside in Flagstaff, AZ. A beautiful mountain top town.
That’s me last July enjoying the sunset.
I LOVE to go camping and on backpacking trips, I basically grew up in the outdoors. In fact all of my earliest memories take place there. Either in the forest, crouched in a creek, or lifting old fallen logs to discover what magical critters were hiding beneath.
Creepy crawlies and reptiles are my favorite. I think they’re all adorable.
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Some of my previous non human family member include: A ball python named Ellen, countless arachnids (even a goliath bird eating tarantula!), garter snakes, Asian sunbeam snake, armadillo lizard, dumpy tree frogs, kingsnake, green anole lizards, leopard gecko, desert hairy scorpion (the cutie pictured above!), giant prickly stick bug, praying mantis, bunnies, dogs, cats, button quails, budgies, rats, and Madagascar hissing cockroaches!
I was also a summer camp kid, but at Camp Whispering Pines in my home town. I was a camper for about 8 years, then graduated to our CIT (counselor in training) program. I was asked to return as a junior counselor and mainly focused on our arts, crafts, and theater programs. Few things are exciting as spreading creativity and curiosity.
I have also worked with other children’s art programs through elementary and middle school, and assisted in classical ballet classes outside of camp.
I recently completed a cosmetology course and after 1600 hours passed my licensing exam last December.
In that field my focus has been on historical and vintage style recreations and theater hair and makeup. I am fascinated in anything that has to do with the past and have began delving into historical, vintage, and costume garment creation and design as well.
I am a member of the SCA (Society of Creative Anachronism), which is a worldwide reenactment group that focuses on pre-17th-century Europe, I am currently focusing on the viking age which was between years 793 and 1066. Oh, I’m also a fantasy fanatic and am 100% about anything magical.
What have I been up to this past year in Flagstaff?
Camping, kayaking, backpacking, road trips, making LOTS of art, working on developing my online art business, working at a salon, working as an assistant manager at a hotel, and trying to figure out what the heck I want to do with myself in the future!
What do I have planned after camp?
I will be studying abroad in Lithuania this fall semester. I grew up with the culture and the language but have never visited or was formally taught the language so I’m super excited!
I know I want to teach and plan on working towards high school art and English. I want to have a positive and inspirational impact on young people, of course that’s a reason I chose to pursue Camp Augusta and it’s beautiful philosophy!
During that journey I plan to do quite a bit of traveling and can’t wait to see where my story takes me, and hope that Camp Augusta to be a key developing point!
Feel free to ask me about art, animals, or anything fantasy! I can’t wait to meet you all and have our stories intertwine!
Left- Camping at a lake Right- Cave camping backpacking trip!
That’s my kitty Winston giving me a bath.
My beautiful goofy family!
Left- A snowy day at Santa Fe Native American sculpture garden. Right- World’s largest Pistachio!.
A beautiful early morning at the magical White Sand Dunes in NM. (Sporting my favorite sweatshirt and cap from the American International Rattlesnake Museum, they have the largest collection of living rattlesnakes in the world!)