SVA Presents: Tiny Table Talk—Vesper Stamper and Claudia Z. Bedrick

The MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Program at the School of Visual Arts, in partnership with Rizzoli Bookstore is pleased to announce a new series of public conversations dedicated to the art and craft of the picture book.

The third event will take place on February 23 at 6 PM, featuring Vesper Stamper and Claudia Z. Bedrick.

Hosted at Rizzoli, the series brings together fellows, artists, illustrators, writers, and editors to discuss the creative and collaborative processes behind illustrated storytelling.

Speakers will examine the history and evolving traditions of the picture book, exploring how images and words work together to create stories that resonate across generations. Though often associated with childhood, picture books remain powerful literary, visual, and cultural forms for readers of all ages, bridging memory, imagination, and shared experience.

At a time when many cultural institutions face defunding and financial strain, iconic bookstores like Rizzoli help bridge the gap by providing vital spaces for dialogue, learning, and cultural exchange.

PLEASE NOTE: RSVPs are encouraged but not required. Seating is limited and will be first come, first served. Doors open at 5:30 pm.

Can't attend? (please specify that you would like it signed in the comments box at checkout).

Knots are necessary and imperfection is a gift in this poignant picture book about an Iranian boy learning to make a new family rug with his grandmother, from an award-winning duo.
A BOOKLIST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR.
Here’s something to remember: Even a rug can be a precious thing.
One morning, a young boy is woken up early by his grandmother. It’s time to make a new rug for the family. Together, they wash and dye the wool. When it’s time to knot the threads, the young boy grows nervous. He wants to make it perfect. But why aren’t the colors right? And why can’t he weave as swiftly as his grandmother?
In this lyrical picture book about imperfection, tradition, and togetherness, A Knot is Not a Tangle explores the memories woven into one family’s Persian rug, and is a gentle reminder of imperfection’s greatest gifts.

Here is a list of other best-selling titles by Vesper Stamper:

Born in Germany and raised in New York City, Vesper Stamper writes and illustrates novels, award-winning picture books and graphic novels which tell, through both words and pictures, stories of history’s rhymes and journeys through dark forests. Her debut illustrated YA novel, What the Night Sings, about the aftermath of the Holocaust through the experience of a young musician, was a National Book Award Nominee, a National Jewish Book Award Finalist, a Morris Award Finalist, Golden Kite Honor Book and Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner.
Vesper holds an MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay from School of Visual Arts, and speaks at conferences and institutions at home and abroad with the aim of cultivating a rehumanized worldview through artistic thinking. She lives with her husband, filmmaker Ben Stamper, in the Northeast, and teaches illustration at School of Visual Arts.

Claudia Z. Bedrick is the publisher, editor, and art director of Enchanted Lion Books, an award-winning, independent publisher based in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Her sense of hope is nourished every single day by the unfettered minds and creativity of children everywhere.

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