Ika Sperling (she/her) was born in 1996 in a small village in Rhineland-Palatinate. She completed her Abitur at the Landeskunstgymnasium Rheinland-Pfalz. In September 2022, she completed her bachelor’s degree in illustration at the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg and has since worked as a freelance illustrator and comic artist, runs comic workshops for young people and is part of the organizing team of the Hamburg Comic Festival. In 2023, she was the first female comic author to receive a scholarship as Rottweiler Stadtschreiberin and was also awarded the Hamburg Literature Prize for her comic debut.
“In Schöppingen, I had the completely unexpected opportunity to devote myself to a completely different creative field: I’m actually a comic artist, but I mainly spent my time in Schöppingen making pottery on the wheel in the workshop. This was partly due to the uncomplicated availability and plenty of space, and the fact that I finished work on my first graphic novel a few weeks before my stay. Before I wanted to jump straight into my next comic project, I thought to myself “oh, I’ll potter for two weeks or so”.
Two weeks turned into three months and in the end I made about 30 bowls, mugs, cups, vases and urns, which I turned and painted myself.”