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Posted on: 11/25/24
Ten years ago, Malaysha Belton walked the halls of Rocky River
High School as a senior. She remembers taking her senior photo with the black shoulder draping and wearing a gold herringbone necklace. She wanted to replicate her older sister’s photo.
Now, she walks the hall as the school’s media arts instructor. During a photo day at the school, memories came rushing back to Belton as she entered the gymnasium — the same side she entered when she took her senior photo.
“I sat on the stool and remembered my mom was standing to the left of me,” said Belton. “Ten years ago, I was walking these halls with my friends and life was just great, and now I’m somebody’s educator. I’m the adult!”
From a young age, Belton knew she loved art, and it started with her older brother. Belton said she always wanted to copy whatever her brother did. She would watch him in the den of their house drawing without references or tracing anything. Belton said she would take his drawings and trace them until she could memorize them. After a while, she didn’t need them and could draw on her own.
She studied art at Winston-Salem State University, and while there, she discovered her love for media art. A friend of hers let her borrow his iPad that had — at the time — a basic drawing app that allowed her to explore all the different digital media tools.
“When I discovered what you could do with art and technology, I was hooked,” said Belton. “I said ‘you know what? I think this is what I really want to do.’ I decided on my concentration right then and there, and I’ve been doing it ever since then.”
Earlier this year, Belton was inducted into
Charlotte ArtPop Street Gallery’s Class of 2024. The program is an annual juried exhibition where the gallery is the entire Charlotte metropolitan area. Every year, 20 local artists are showcased on donated public media spaces like billboards and digital displays, receive educational opportunities, features at artist events and more.
Belton’s art is drawn from her early childhood experiences. She said it takes her back to a time of “innocence, pure joy of being in the world and not having any responsibility.” Her submitted piece “Blue line in the Red Sky” was inspired by the men in her life — her grandfather, father and uncles — and how she viewed them from her perspective as a child. It can be seen on a billboard around Charlotte and was also featured in Times Square in New York. She couldn’t stop visiting the Times Square billboard when she went to see it in person.
“I would’ve slept right underneath that board,” Belton said with a laugh.
Being in the program and seeing her work displayed in New York confirmed to Belton the hard work she put into being an artist was worth it. She encourages her students to never give up on their dreams.
“I’m from the east side of Charlotte, I’m the last of four children, the last of all the grandchildren — I’m just a girl,” said Belton. “Words cannot describe seeing my art on that huge screen. It was such a powerful and reassuring feeling being that I’ve worked really hard to prove myself as an artist. So to be there, I didn’t feel out of place. I’ve been at this for a really long time and I decided that I was going to be an artist from a young age and I didn’t stop.
“I tell my students that they’re going to go through things and that it’s going to be tough,” she added. “So I push them to go after what it is they want to go after. Invest in it because it can take you somewhere if you’re consistent with it.”
Belton is in her first year at Rocky River High School. She previously worked at Ashley Park pre-K-8 School and also taught in Rowan County. She didn’t think her love for art would lead her to teaching. She thought perhaps she’d be an architect, an interior designer or work for a graphic design firm. But leaning heavily on her faith, she said God told her to teach.
Now she finds that teaching has taught her much more about herself. She draws on her experiences from past teachers to help shape how she interacts with her students. Belton said she’d like to open her own studio one day — a place where kids can go and create.
“Little did I know teaching helped me grow into a better woman,” she said. “I’m a better nurturer, I’ve developed more patience and I’m more intentional with every single thing that I do. Teaching also helps heal your inner child. It teaches you to let go and stop being so uptight. Relax, smile, laugh. So many amazing things come out of teaching, and now I’m in a mindspace where I feel like everyone should teach for a year. That way, you can reconnect with yourself. I think that just might help us get a little further ahead in life.”
