We were lucky to catch up with Elisa Monsalve recently and have shared our conversation below.

Elisa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project to me is Estudio Pirata. Estudio Pirata was born in 2019. It is a project with my best friend Ignacio Ortega, who is an illustrator too.
This project is about illustration from the narrative and the communicational perspective. With Ignacio, we have done workshops, and classes for adults and children about illustration always with a political perspective, including play in creative processes. Some workshops have been about illustration and stories, others about illustration linked to other disciplines, and also about monsters.
We have created illustrations with Ignacio and are working on a book about the sunset that we wrote and now illustrate together with Editorial Grafito from Chile.
To me, Estudio Pirata is very important because is a possibility to create and think about illustration and his possibly narrative and political. We are interested in sharing emotions through illustration and art, imagining and discovering like a pirate being an adventurer neither so good nor so bad.
If You wanna you may follow our Instagram @Estudioxírata.

Elisa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I always liked to draw and since I was a child I liked books with illustrations. I studied visual arts at Universidad de Chile and then Illustration certified at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. When I studied arts I specialized in engraving and now I´m studying a Master’s In Visual art with a specialization en graphics at UNAM in México.

I´m a book illustrator and I also do other works from illustration. Actually, I working in Estudio Pirata proyect and Caudal Gráfico Collective.

My personal work develops an imaginary about observation of nature and the allegorical relationship between humans with this, the fantasy and the subjectivities of the representation of the feminine in the culture.
I published my work with Penguin Random House, Santillana, Grafito Ediciones, Quilombo Ediciones Quilombo Ediciones, and actually, I’m working on two books with Ediciones Ekaré. My work has been exhibited in -museums and galleries from Chile, Buenos Aires, México and the United States.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I believe that my work excites people. That people feel identified and moved by what I do. I dedicate a lot of time to my work, I love it and respect it. For me, it is something very spiritual and mystical. Illustration and art are means to invent worlds and talk about the impossible or our desires. If people appreciate it, that’s enough for me.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

He often said that I spend little time on work but the creative processes are slow, especially if you respect the craft, and the message you want to give. Most of the time creative jobs take longer but the industry wants you to take little time without considering that we work on many things at the same time. In general, we work on 2 books, we do classes, and work on many projects.

I have learned to be more honest with my time, before I stayed up late, I didn’t sleep to meet impossible goals. Today I’m a little calmer about that. (although I always have a lot of work haha)

Contact Info:

• Website: www.elisamariamonsalve.cl
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elisamariamonsalve/