Artist Interviews 2025

Liza Meyer  
By Julia Siedenburg



Step into the shadowed world of Liza Meyer, a German artist whose creations bring life to the eerie beauty of the unknown. Drawing inspiration from forgotten folklore, mystery, and the lingering spirit of autumn, her work blurs the line between the whimsical and the macabre. Through her intricate ink drawings, carved figures, and sculpted goblins, Meyer constructs a realm where nostalgia and nightmare meet—a place where Halloween never truly ends. Her work could not have been more perfect for this fall issue —an enchanting blend of darkness and nostalgia that lingers long after the page is turned. Perhaps I’m a little biased, but it was a true pleasure to connect with Liza about our shared motherland and the eerie childhood tales that shaped us both. As a lifelong admirer of all things Halloween, I couldn’t help but fall in love with her creations. I hope you love her creations as much as I do—though fair warning, they might haunt you… in the best possible way.



Why do you think art is so important in our daily lives?

I think it's a complex answer, involving different perspectives and overall it's about connections between humans. As an artist it's necessary to stay sane and keep going. There is the difference between creating just for the fun of being creative but also especially when creating something intuitively you're likely working with complex emotions in yourself and processing things going on in your subconscious, which is of course very important. For the person consuming art in their daily life, in the best case it's about connecting with it because it evokes complex emotions in them, links with their own memories, emotions and experiences. Maybe it comforts them in hard times and inspires them to create something that comes from the heart on their own. Art is THE tool, medium or mirror to experiment with important topics, emotions, different viewpoints of everything going on in our world; making statements, playing out scenarios in imagination while wanting to move humans and leave an impression on them; to give them something to think about, discuss and grow. There is no art without humans.



Which artist is your biggest inspiration?

So hard to answer! I don't have just one because I also draw a lot of inspiration from music, film, nature and more. A few of the many artists that inspire me are Winnie Gebhardt-Gayler, Harry Clarke, Thomas Ott, Mike Mignola, Craig Gleason, Alan Lee and my very dear best friend Andreas Nagel because he inspires me everyday with his being, way and thoughts.



Your work seems to be inspired by magical and spooky worlds. In your opinion, what is so special about the fall/Halloween season?

The fall and Halloween season has been my favorite thing since growing up in the late 90s/early 2000s, so it has to be a core nostalgic thing in my case. I always loved the Halloween episodes of everything the most and felt drawn to darker, mystical and strange themes. I love the colorful, warm celebration and welcoming of the colder and darker seasons, even though the pale winter in itself depresses me. I think what makes it so special is that it's a season of transition, where the veil in between gets thinner.



Wood, textile, candles, stickers, and prints – you are a true artist who does it all. Which one of these do you most enjoy doing?

I always enjoy trying out new things, and what I love the most is the creative process itself and getting lost in time. I'm really into sculpting tiny creatures, carving wood and doing ink illustrations with very small pen nibs for precise details. I am such a slow artist,but I love taking the time with things that make me happy.



Since both of us are from Germany, we grew up being told about the scary stories from Krampus, Struwwelpeter, and so on. Which fairy tales or myths are your biggest influences?

Well of course I also got the Struwwelpeter book growing up in Germany. As a kid I was OBSESSED with Egyptian mythology, mummification, aliens, crop circles, witchcraft, vampires, ghost stories, mysteries and reading about myths and legends. One local legend in particular fascinated me as much as I was frightened of it. There was a German Knight with the name of Christian Friedrich von Kahlbutz who was accused of murder and swore that if he really did it, his corpse should never rot after he dies. Roughly 100 years after he died it was discovered that his body indeed never rotted and he was naturally mummified. I remember there even was a spooky TV show made for children inspired by that legend in the early 2000s called 'Spuk aus der Gruft'. His mummified body became a tourist attraction that you can visit to this day. My parents took me there once and I brought back a postcard with a photograph of the mummy lying in a glass coffin and I would lock it away when I didn't want to look at it because I was so spooked by that story.



Please tell us what the process was like to create your Goblin. How long did it take from the idea to the finished figurine?

It started with a random scribble of a silly Goblin Character that I drew and me thinking I want to get more into sculpting. As I like building things with my hands from scratch I just started to build a very rough and basic shape with wire and aluminum foil, then I started sculpting. After that came baking the figurine, priming and painting it. I think it took around 8 hours in total.



I love the eeriness and mystery that lies in your images. Please tell me what inspired you to create the piece “ Nachtschwärmer”.

I draw inspiration from different sources, sometimes strange imagery from my dreams, other times images just pop up in my mind when I'm about to fall asleep and then I have to quickly write or sketch them down before I forget it. Sometimes I start intuitively without knowing where I'm going but in this case I recall that I listened to music and got an image flash into my mind of a woman having their eyes covered with moths so I did a sketch and later made the ink illustration of it. Earlier this year I made a new version of it which I haven't published anywhere before.



Tell us about your background and upbringing. Where did you grow up? When and how did you find your way to the artist life? What else do you enjoy doing?

I grew up in a rural small town about an hour car drive away from Berlin, watching vhs tapes, having no cellphone and very few friends, living near the town cemetery, playing either outside, in the huge crop field behind our house or staying inside drawing all the time or playing video games. My parents are both very creative. My dad had several metal and punk bands in which he played guitar and he often took me with him to band practice. He also is a great artist and likes working and building with wood. I have loved drawing and crafting since I was very little and my mom especially encouraged that part. She would craft with me and help me make costumes to dress up. I knew that I wanted to have a creative job early on and later went for it and tried my luck as a full time artist at 25. What I also enjoy is photography, hiking in forests and exploring old cemeteries for their beautiful gravestones and statues.



You have showcased and sold your work at different markets around Germany. What is that experience like for you? Do you enjoy the interactions with the people?

My first time showcasing my art at a market and being a part of an exhibition was in October 2022 in Maine (USA). I was so nervous and struggled a lot because I wasn't used to interacting with many people and talking much but that got better over time. Nearly everyone that comes by is so kind and interested, which I'm truly grateful for. Starting to meet people at markets that already knew my art online and support my work feels so exciting. Seeing the faces behind these online interactions shared over the years and connecting with real people outside of social media is what I like most about markets.



What are your plans for the future?

I want to focus on storytelling and creating printed media like zines and comics.