Illustrator Ika Sperling spent two and a half weeks as a guest at our hermitage at Rietzer Berg. She started her second book here. Her first book, "The Great Reset," was published by Reprodukt Verlag in 2024.

Escape from everyday life

Her March was marked by professional and personal stress, so Ika couldn't dive right into work; instead, she needed to relax first. Surrounded by nature and silence, the comic artist slept in and began her day in peace before getting to work. The goal was to get an initial idea for the content of her next graphic novel and to define the characters. After the initial "everything is stupid" phase, she finally managed to do that, says Ika. The setting of the story is also clear – the battlefield in Wiesbaden. Just like listening to metal music, this place was part of her youth. She still enjoys listening to this music today, but would like to explore this scene more. A scene where problems have long existed because issues like racism, toxic masculinity, and misogyny aren't discussed. Perhaps her new book can make a difference here. She created all of her drawings for the book in watercolors. In addition to working on her book, the illustrator is preparing for her master's degree.

She didn't feel lonely.

Overall, she thoroughly enjoyed her stay at Rietzer Berg in the state of Brandenburg. The student made herself comfortable by the fireplace with cat Amy. She didn't feel lonely or afraid, given the vastness of nature out here. "It was far too chilled to be scary," she says.

Illustrator Ika Sperling spent two and a half weeks as a guest at our hermitage at Rietzer Berg. She started her second book here. Her first book, "The Great Reset," was published by Reprodukt Verlag in 2024.

Escape from everyday life

Her March was marked by professional and personal stress, so Ika couldn't dive right into work; instead, she needed to relax first. Surrounded by nature and silence, the comic artist slept in and began her day in peace before getting to work. The goal was to get an initial idea for the content of her next graphic novel and to define the characters. After the initial "everything is stupid" phase, she finally managed to do that, says Ika. The setting of the story is also clear – the battlefield in Wiesbaden. Just like listening to metal music, this place was part of her youth. She still enjoys listening to this music today, but would like to explore this scene more. A scene where problems have long existed because issues like racism, toxic masculinity, and misogyny aren't discussed. Perhaps her new book can make a difference here. She created all of her drawings for the book in watercolors. In addition to working on her book, the illustrator is preparing for her master's degree.

She didn't feel lonely.

Overall, she thoroughly enjoyed her stay at Rietzer Berg in the state of Brandenburg. The student made herself comfortable by the fireplace with cat Amy. She didn't feel lonely or afraid, given the vastness of nature out here. "It was far too chilled to be scary," she says.