Noemi Beltran.

Noemi Beltran, an art teacher at W.T. White High School, has always loved making art. 

“It’s always been a great way to cope with emotions,” said Beltran, who has been at the school for eight years. 

She learned more as she went through college and found a love for teaching her students through art. Beltran said her work is inspired by nostalgia, and it gives her a chance to explore her own culture using ancient artifacts and history.

“It gives me a chance to connect my current life into the past,” she said. 

Art by Noemi Beltran.

To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, Beltran is having her students create paintings inspired by amate and mola designs as a way of exploring and learning about Hispanic culture.

On Oct. 25 in the Crystal Terrace at the Music Hall at Fair Park, Dallas ISD art teachers, including Beltran, get to showcase their talents in Dallas Education Foundation’s Heart of Teaching Gallery Exhibition. More than 50 pieces of art will be on display and even auctioned off. All the proceeds go to the Dallas Education Foundation to support its mission of accelerating student success. 

Beltran’s piece in the showcase focuses on ancient Aztec sculpture of a fierce-looking jaguar, surrounded by a calming background, representing a menacing figure in a peaceful setting.