Please Ask Me Questions: E-Mail jay.zehngebot@risd.edu

Q. Who are you?
A. My name is Jay Zehngebot. I am currently a sophmore at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) with a focus on Printmaking. Besides being a full-time student, I participate in both volunteer and comissioned Tape Art projects. Also, I volunteer with Our School, a non-profit program which provides art-based activities and supervision to the children of adults who are enrolled in night classes to learn English. I believe firmly in the responsibilities which accompany privaledge and work humbly to fufill them. I also believe that indeed, "we must become the change we wish to see".

Q: Is green tape all you've got?
A: For now, yes. The special tape that we use comes only in green. With increased support for what we do, and if things go according to plan, one day we hope to return to a royal blue tape, a color of drawing tape that is no longer manufactured. The royal blue tape can be seen in earlier documentation on www.tapeart.com. We do love the green, however, and have found it to suit one of our favorite subjects, the kingdom of plants, quite well.

Q: Why do you tear-down the drawings so soon after their completion?
A. One of my favorite analogies to answer this question goes a little like this. If you invite a guest over to your home, chances are a day or two with them is great. If that same friend decides to set up camp and stay the week, we might call this "overstaying your welcome". Now imagine that friend declaring their intention to stay forever.
   Also, by removing our drawings, we place an emphasis on the process and play of drawing itself, not on the final product. The focus becomes not the drawings, but the experiences of drawing, seeing, sharing, and helping.

Q. What resources will the hospital need to provide?
A. Here at Hasbro we have designated hallways where we can come in and draw, and because of our familiarity the hospital chooses not to shadow us. We anticipate most hospitals and healthcare facilities will require our supervision and recognize that for most this is no small deal. However, if a supervisor could situate us in a space and spend a morning introducing and facilitating cooperation between ourselves and hospital staff and/or families and patients, we would be happy to stay put and get to work.
    If a situation arises where our presence, or the presence of our murals makes a patient or anyone uncomfortable, we can quickly remove either ourselves, our drawings, or both. Thankfully, in the two years I have been volunteering at the Hasbro Children's Hospital, this has never occurred.

Q. What are your working hours?
A. I check my e-mail daily. Phone calls are preffered during business hours.