Residing in Alpena hasn’t kept illustrator Elisa Chavarri from making a full-time living through her art. The ease of the Internet enables her to stay in touch with clients and market her work.

“The Internet makes it all possible,” said Chavarri, a graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design, where she graduated with honors in 2003. “Apart from the occasional phone call and video chat most of my communications with clients are done via email, and it is a fast and efficient way to relay sketches and final art since most of my finished client work is digital.”

Most recently, Chavarri did the illustrations for a colorful new children’s book set in Guatemala and centered on traditional textile weaving. Titled “Rainbow Weaver” and written by Linda Elovitz Marshall, the book was published by Lee & Low Books, Inc. It is available locally at Blue Phoenix Books as well as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target and her publisher’s website.

The project meant a lot to Chavarri, because she was born in Peru, spent the first four years of her life there and makes frequent visits back to see family in Peru. The story about traditional weaving, written in both English and Spanish, reminds her of the beautiful textiles from her homeland.

“I have somewhat of a growing collection of Peruvian textiles,” Chavarri said. “I just love the artistry of them, their color combinations and patterns. Every time I go I visit the artisanal markets and bring back as much as I can.”

Although she spent the first years of her life in Peru, Chavarri’s father, a doctor, eventually immigrated with the family to the United States and ended up practicing at what is now MidMichigan Medical Center – Alpena. Consequently, she spent most her growing up years in Alpena.

Following her graduation from Savannah College of Art and Design, Chavarri and her husband, Alpena native Matthew Konicek, remained in Savannah for a time, where she started building up her career. Ultimately, they opted to return to Alpena to be near both sets of family and to start a family of their own.

In addition to “Rainbow Weaver,” she has done illustrations for many magazines and other picture books, including “A Smart Girl’s Guide: Boys” and “Puzzle Palooza” for one of her favorite clients, American Girl.

Chavarri works out of a home-based studio but also has a portable set up to work remotely. Since she and her husband welcomed their toddler, Lucia, into the world nearly three years ago, the amount of time she spends each day on her art varies.

“Some days it’s only a few hours, and some days it’s been 12 or more. Whatever it is, it never seems to be enough,” she said, adding that she really enjoys working in acrylics, watercolors and digital, along with trying new mediums.

Chavarri said she was asked to illustrate “Rainbow Weaver” after an editor at Lee & Low came across some of her Peruvian-themed illustrations she’d done of Andean girls in traditional dress.

“The editor thought I might be a good fit for this project centered around a Guatemalan girl and textiles,” she said.”

According to the book’s cover page, Marshall was inspired to write the story of “Rainbow Weaver” by friends who founded Mayan Hands, an organization of weavers in Guatemala. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the book benefits this organization.

When it came time for the illustrations, Chavarri said the author provided strong photo reference materials from her trips to Guatemala.

“I also was lucky to reach out to her friends at Mayan Hands during my research for the book in order to keep the illustrations as authentic as possible,” she said. “I was given a good amount of creative leeway on this project, which I really appreciated.”

With the “Rainbow Weaver” project now behind her, Chavarri has turned her attention to illustrations for several magazine stories and setting up an online shop on Etsy that will sell high quality prints of some of her illustrations. Additional information about Chavarri’s art can be found at www.elisachavarri.com.