The Healing Power of Symbols and Imagery
With Triada Samaras MA / MFA Master Level Teaching Artist
with Michelle Marigliano, Senior Director of Education and Equity
and Steven Carey, Content Area Supervisor at Monroe Township Public Schools, NJ
Choice Day Professional Development for K-12 Teachers
Williamstown High School, Williamstown, NJ 1/23/2025
Email: triadasamaras@gmail.com
Web: Arts Educator - TRIADA SAMARAS
Blog: Professor Samaras
The Healing Power of Symbols and Imagery
"This professional learning program uses the art forms of visual art and poetry to foster well-being. Collage and poetry offer pathways into our unconscious mind where many of our fears and dreams live hidden from our view. In this workshop participants are given the opportunity to explore their creative selves, identify what sustains them, leave behind some of their recent losses, and create a new future to live into. Teachers can take the strategies of this workshop back into their classrooms and adapt them to give students an opportunity to explore loss and to reconnect with their dreams."
Eloise Bruce
Honoring a Legacy: Art and Well-being
Eloise Bruce famously used collage and poetry to help participants "leave behind losses and create a new future." In this workshop, artist Triada Samaras riffs on that foundation, blending Bruce’s wisdom with her own focus on the link between mindfulness and creative practice.
The Process: From Teacher to Classroom
Samaras adapted the workshop into three accessible steps that teachers first practiced themselves, then prepared to share with their students:
Breath-Drawing: Using meditation to ground the artist. In the classroom, this helps students regulate their nervous systems before putting pen to paper.
Intuitive Collage: Creating without a plan to let the inner self lead. This allows students to bypass the "inner critic" and explore their own imagery.
Black-out Poetry: Finding personal words and themes within personal imagery and intuition. This empowers students to reclaim their voice and build a unique identity.
Classroom Application These practices are designed for teachers to take directly back to their students. By focusing on authenticity and the inner self, these tools help students build the inner confidence and identity needed to navigate their own worlds.
Triada Samaras 2026
The photos here capture teachers immersed in the creative process, documenting the transition from personal reflection to practical classroom tools.
