Emotional Regulation Through Art Day 3
Professional Learning, Trenton, NJ
With Triada Samaras MA / MFA Master Level Teaching Artist
with Michelle Marigliano, Senior Director of Education and Equity
and Robert Keyes, Arts Supervisor, Trenton Board of Education
6/10/2026
Link to Blog: https://professorsamaras.blogspot.com
Web TRIADA SAMARAS - HOME PAGE
Web: Arts Educator - TRIADA SAMARAS
Blog: Professor Samaras
This interactive workshop introduces mindful visual arts practices that support emotional regulation and student/teacher well-being. Teachers will explore techniques such as breath drawing, slow drawing, mandala creation, mindful doodling, and collage, using hands-on materials to cultivate focus, reflection, expression, calm, and connection. Teachers will learn how to guide students in using these practices to reflect on their emotions and experiences, fostering self-regulation. Activities can be brief exercises to support focus before lessons or assessments, or they can form the basis for full art lessons, making the workshop suitable for K–12 art and other content-area teachers. Teachers will leave with practical strategies to foster creative agency, student voice, and responsible *engagement in any classroom.
Target Audience: K–12 Teachers
Aligned Standards: New Jersey Visual & Performing Arts Standards, Social-Emotional Learning Standards
Goals Of Mindful Art Practice
Students Will Learn
Mindful art practices offer students a safe, non-judgmental space for creative exploration where the focus is on process rather than perfection. Through simple artmaking and reflective exercises students will learn:
- Students will learn they can calm their minds and bodies through simple reflective and artmaking exercises.
- Students will learn tuning into their unique personal experiences and into the present moment enhances a feeling of wellness and creativity.
- Students will learn emotional awareness adds to their focus, and to their expressive confidence.
- Students will learn these art practices help support nervous system regulation, reduce stress, and contribute to a feeling of well-being.
- Students will discover new ways to reflect inwardly, connect with their emotions, and cultivate insight, resilience, and self-acceptance.
Note: Mindful art practices are intended to support reflection, creative expression, self-awareness, and present-moment attention within an educational setting. They are not a substitute for therapy, counseling, or mental health treatment, and individual experiences will naturally vary from person to person.*
Students Will Do:
• Students are guided through mindful explorations using expressive art, reflection, and creative practices.
• Students develop tools that help support focus, emotional awareness, nervous system regulation, and creative expression.
• Students deepen self-awareness, self-compassion, confidence, and personal voice through the creative process.
• Students experience meaningful connections with peers, teachers, and the larger classroom community through shared creative experiences.
EMOTIONS LIST (alphabetically)
Adoration Affectionate Afraid Aggravated Agonized Alienated Amazed Amused Angry Anguish Annoyed Anxious Apprehensive Aroused Ashamed Attacked Attraction Betrayed Bitter Bliss Blue Brave Calm Caring Cautious Charmed Cheerful Compassion Competent Concerned Confident Confused Contemptuous Content Contrite Cranky Cruel Crushed Curious Damaged Dazed Defeated Defensive Dejection Delighted Depressed Desire Hopeless Horrified Hostility Humiliated Hurt Impatient Impulsive Inarticulate Incompetent Detached Despairing Determined Disappointed Disgusted Dislike Disoriented Displeased Distressed Doubtful Eagerness Ecstasy Elation Embarrassed Empty Enchantment Enjoyment Enraged Enthrallment Enthusiasm Envy Euphoric Exasperated Excited Exhilarated Fearful Fidgety Foggy Fondness Fragile Frazzled Frightened Frustrated Furious Gaiety Glad Glee Glum Grieving Grouchy Grumpy Guilty Happy Hateful Heartbroken Helpless Hopeful Indifferent Infatuated Insecure Insulted Interested Irritable Irritated Isolated Jealous Jolly Jovial Joyful Jubilation Judged Jumpy Kindness Lazy Lethargic Liking Loathing Lonely Longing Lost Love Mad Manipulated Miserable Misunderstood Mortified Nervous Nostalgic Optimism Outrage Overwhelmed Panicked Paralyzed Paranoid Passion Pleased Pleasure Powerful Proud Rage Regretful Rejected Relieved Resentment Revulsion Satisfaction Scornful Sentimental Shocked Shy Skeptical Sorrowful Spacy Spiteful Stressed Suicidal Surprised Suspicious Sympathy Tenderness Tense Terrified Threatened Thrilled Trapped Triumphant Troubled Trusting Uneasy Unhappy Unsure Vengeful Vigilant Vindictive Vulnerable Warm Weary Worried Wounded Zeal
Some Writing Prompts:
I am….
I feel most alive when….
My life was forever changed when..
I couldn't imagine living without..
What I need most in this moment is..
Some questions for mindful artworks
Notice five things that you can see.
Look around you and bring your attention to five things that you can see. Pick something that you don’t normally notice, like a shadow or a small crack in the concrete.
Notice four things that you can feel.
Bring awareness to four things that you are currently feeling, like the texture of your pants, the feeling of the breeze on your skin, or the smooth surface of a table you are resting your hands on.
Notice three things you can hear.
Take a moment to listen, and note three things that you hear in the background. This can be the chirp of a bird, the hum of the refrigerator, or the faint sounds of traffic from a nearby road.
Notice two things you can smell.
Bring your awareness to smells that you usually filter out, whether they’re pleasant or unpleasant. Perhaps the breeze is carrying a whiff of pine trees if you’re outside, or the smell of a fast-food restaurant across the street.
Notice one thing you can taste.
Focus on one thing that you can taste right now, at this moment. You can take a sip of a drink, chew a piece of gum, eat something, notice the current taste in your mouth, or even open your mouth to search the air for a taste.
Humming
The Simple Sound That Literally Rewires Your Nervous System (Vagal Toning Explained) - YouTube Vagus Nerve Vocal Vibration Frequency
* Reference: Cynthia Hauk Mindful LINK
C. Triada Samaras June 2026
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nfjG-t1SBU2tONwUu95GMa7CEAradBiYm6WupIOEGrs/edit?usp=sharing
