At 23, West Windsor resident Natosha McVeigh knows exactly what she wants to do with her future, and that is art.
McVeigh, pictured at far right, is already taking a big step forward with her first solo art show at the West Windsor Farmers’ Market on Saturday, July 12, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The exhibition will feature her student works and is being presented through the West Windsor Arts Council, which honored her for her work, “Soul Searching,” at the Mercer County Artists Show this year.##M:[more]##
McVeigh’s works consist of three-dimensional artwork, poetry, photography, painting using oils or acrylics, drawing, and printmaking.
Born and raised in West Windsor by her grandparents — her grandfather owns his own excavating business and her grandmother helps manage the business — McVeigh later moved to Manahawkin during her high school years, where she attended Southern Regional High School.
McVeigh doesn’t speak of a life-changing moment in which she realized where she wanted to take her future. Instead, it has been a natural progression that began even before she was barely out of her toddler years. “It’s always been a passion,” she says. “I’ve always been good at it. In pre-kindergarten, I would bring art home, and people would say, ‘Wow, that’s great!”
During her sophomore year in high school, she says, she realized she wanted to teach art, and she hasn’t strayed from that goal since. She moved back to West Windsor after high school, and then attended MCCC, where she graduated with honors and received an associate degree in fine arts. While attending MCCC, she was the vice presidentf leadership for Phi Theta Kappa, the international honors society for two-year colleges, and she also became a member of the National Scholars Honors Society.
But that is only the beginning for McVeigh, who will head to Moore College of Art and Design, the only college of art and design for women in the entire nation, next spring. She plans on pursuing a doctorate in art education. “I hope to go to Moore and really become the best artist I can, and the best teacher I can be,” she says. “I want to learn different techniques and new ways to make art.”
“I want to be an art teacher so I can make everybody else as passionate as I am about it,” she added.
And McVeigh’s goals don’t stop with her collegiate plans or with the exhibition at the farmers’ market. “I’ve actually discussed with my good friends the idea of opening up a gallery with a cafe in it,” she says.
Because of the West Windsor Arts Council, she says, “I have been getting E-mails from museums saying they have exhibits coming up, and to enter my work.” She plans on submitting some of her newer pieces to these museums, some of the work she describes as “pushing the envelope.” — Cara Latham
West Windsor Community Farmers’ Market, Vaughn Drive Parking Lot, Princeton Junction Train Station, 609-577-5113. www.westwindsorfarmersmarket.org. West Windsor Arts Council presents exhibit of works by Natosha McVeigh, who earned awards for her work, ‘Soul Searching” at the Mercer County Artists’ Show. John Henry Goldman, a West Windsor resident, pictured above at left, presents “Straight Jazz with a Mellow Tone,” a variety of popular, classic, and jazz standards. Saturday, July 12, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
