Sunday, March 23, 2025
Chloe Veg has been around art her whole life, but she didn’t discover she wanted to permanently be an art teacher until she started working at The Art Studio in Rockville Centre.
“I knew I was looking for a job in an art studio,” Veg said. “So I was calling all the studios in the area, and they didn’t reply or weren’t hiring. I called this one and Danielle (Barbaro) happened to answer. It was the most welcoming and warm conversation. We were just laughing and talking.”
As owner and manager Danielle Barbaro tells it, there was more at work in Veg working there than just random chance or choice.
“Serendipity happened where a couple of staff members left because their schedule changed,” Barbaro said. “So everything fell into the right place at the right time. She is so great. I love her energy. She just has a great vibe. The kids love her. It’s just like, I got very lucky.”
Veg’s parents weren’t in the professional art world, but they exposed Veg to a variety of arts as a child because of their appreciation for it.
“So it was always very present in my life,” she said. “I was never the type of kid to be in sports, I was always in an art class. My brother was always in an art class, my parents always talked about art.”
When it was time to go to college, she researched different majors and thought she wanted to be an art therapist.
“My school pulled the art therapy program right when I was going in,” Veg said. “But working here I’ve adjusted my brain and I’m leaning towards wanting to be an art teacher instead. Everything about this place made me realize everything else is just trying to get the feeling of what I’m doing here.”
She wants to be an art teacher because she loves helping others create more than she loves making art herself.
“When it’s with kids, or anybody, and they have an idea in their brain, and we’re talking about it … I feel like I get more enjoyment out of helping someone create rather than myself creating.”
Maybe that’s because she defines her art experiences more as a source of mental health rather than a chance to make something.
“When I went to these art classes I would always be in the worst mood,” Veg said. “Then I would go to my art class, and I would leave and I would be in the best mood ever. It would just calm me down. I feel like it’s very much about not what you create, just the feelings during creation, and about being proud of your final work. Just about enjoying the process and trusting the process.”
Her approach to teaching is very kid-friendly.
“I want everyone to just feel like they have a safe, happy environment to feel however they want, be however they want,” Veg said. “You don’t realize that time is going by. I feel like that’s most important for me.”
What she wants her students to experience each class is her message for everyone.
“For anybody creating anything, don’t be too hard on yourself,” Veg added. “Just let it happen. And everything will work out the way it’s supposed to.”
