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During her quarantine, she's drawing synchro teams


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A lift done by the Starlights Junior Team from the USA, during their 2018-19 season. (Credits: Ava Designs - 2020)

Ava Privratsky is synchro skater on the Northernettes Junior Team. She's from the State of Minnesota in the United States of America and is fifteen years old. Her talent? Drawing!

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First year of synchro
Sophomore (10th grade) in high school, Ava Privratsky just finished her first synchro year on the Northernettes team. 

"I have been skating individually for around ten years. This past year I decided to join synchro to try something new and experience what it was like to be on a team instead of a solo figure skater."

And she doesn’t regret her choice. "I found it to be the best part of figure skating so far," said Ava who has multiple talents.

"I like to think about everything just being lines and shapes"
Ava started drawing pictures of her own synchro team for her advanced placement art class in school. She showed some of my teammates and coaches and they loved the work!

"Over my spring break vacation, I created an account on Instagram to post some of my work. I began getting messages from people asking if I took requests, and I decided that would be a fun opportunity. Now, in under a month’s time, I have almost 400 followers and the account continues to grow!"

What's her technique?

"To draw my pictures, I use an app called Procreate. It was a little bit of an investment to purchase, but it has been so worth it. It has allowed me to be more efficient compared to drawing on paper or other media. When I draw, I make sure to have the photo provided to me by the skaters pulled up right next to where I am going to draw. I like to think about everything just being lines and shapes. I start by swatching colors for all of the elements of the picture (hair, costume, skin, etc.). Then I make a sketch using all of the colors that I chose for the swatches. Once I am happy with the way the poses look in comparison to the underlying photo, I color and shade it in! I always add in tiny details such as lace and sparkles when they are in the picture as well. The drawings take me anywhere from two to four hours depending on how many people are in the photo and how much detail I add," explained Ava.


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Hydroblade move by a skater from Team Mystique from Finland - 2019-20 long program. (Credits: Ava Designs - 2020)

"Being at home 24/7 gives me plenty of time"
"My favorite part about drawing is being able to share my art with other people. All of the hard work is worth it when I see people’s reactions. It’s also so fun to have the opportunity to talk to synchro skaters and teams all around the world!"
Now during the Covid19 quarantine, Ava has had a lot more time to draw. "Being at home 24/7 gives me plenty of time to do online schoolwork and work on my drawings. My State is under a stay-at-home order, like many parts of the world are, and it is just a little weird staying home all the time," commented the young skater.

Routines and drills in the basement

During the quarantine, Ava is doing dryland training by practicing last year’s Northernettes’ routines and drills in her basement. "It’s been a good workout but I cannot wait to be able to get back on the ice and see in-person my teammates and friends," she noted.


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Beginning pose by Miami University Senior Varsity Team during their 2017-18 season. (Credits: Ava Design - 2020)

Ava encourages people from all teams to send her pictures and messages through her Instagram account: @designs_by_ava.

"If the person and/or other people in the photo are interested, I would love to choose some of the photos and make drawings of the moments shown in them to create stickers. I use a website called RedBubble where anyone may upload their art and sell it as a sticker. It is really fun to have your own personalized drawing made into a sticker that can be put on anything," added the skater. 

Do you also want to share with Jura Synchro your activities at home? Leave us a message: home@jurasynchro.com 


Tags: Synchro At Home / Designs by Ava