Current BFA Illustration and Cartooning student Hazel Newlevant was recently awarded a 2012 Xeric Grant for her comic Ci Vediamo, which is an Italian goodbye meaning, “We’ll see each other.” A wordless tale of love, loss, and endurance, Ci Vediamo uses overlapping transparent vellum pages to tell the story, a technique invented by Newlevant.

Founded in 1992 by Peter Laird, co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a Xeric Grant provides financial assistance in printing and marketing awarded comics, and is recognized by the comics community as a mark of quality. Past SVA winners include BFA Illustration and Cartooning Department faculty members Jessica Abel, Lauren Weinstein and Nick Bertozzi. For more information, visit the Xeric Foundation.