Triada Samaras: Emotional Regulation Through Art Number 2: Trenton Board of Education, Trenton, NJ

 

Emotional Regulation Through Art 2

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

5/20/2026 

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

Mindfulness Art has 'cousins' in other well-known art movements:

Neo-Expressionism / Graffiti / Street Art

Below Artworks: Keith Haring American

Keith Haring - Wikipedia

Below Artworks: Jean Michel Basquiat American

Jean-Michel Basquiat - Wikipedia

Outsider Art

Below Artwork: Y.m.Lo Japanese b. 1982 

Description of Workshop

In today’s workshop, Trenton High School art teachers revisited breath meditation drawings before diving into a new modality: body scan drawings.

The process began with a guided body scan meditation. From there, the group experimented with various black-and-white drawing tools and papers. During the session, the discussion covered the use of stencils versus freehand drawing, as well as the timing and selection of writing prompts for students. This included an explanation of how to use AI to generate these prompts and scripts for the classroom.

The teachers largely favored experiential, hands-on writing prompts over options that felt too analytical or cerebral—a preference that was especially emphasized by the special education art teacher. The group wrapped up with plans to experiment with these new techniques back in their own classrooms.

Photographs of Workshop: 

Art Teachers in Action

More Information Here:

LINK

Credits

*Copyright Mindful Creative Muse LLC 2016 - Present.  www.mindfulcreativemuse.com

Tsaousides, T., et al. (2018). Emotional Regulation Workbook 3rd Edition. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, NY, NY

Triada Samaras: Emotional Regulation Through Art Number 1: Trenton Board of Education, Trenton, NJ

Emotional Regulation Through Art

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

3/11/2026 

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 neurographic art, 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

General Resources: 

Meditations to calm the mind and emotions:

Mindfulness Guided Meditation - 5 Minutes

Grounding Exercise for Racing Minds: Calming Meditation with Dora Kamau 3 mins

5 Minute Five Senses Practice | Emotional Balance | Mindfulness

Breath-Drawing: Using meditation to ground the artist. In the classroom, this helps students regulate their nervous systems before putting pen to paper.

*5 minute Mindfulness Drawing Meditation | Easy Drawing the Breath Meditation Art Tutorial to Relax

One minute drawing for relaxation

*1 min Drawing Meditation and Mandalas Art for Stress Relief | Simple Doodle Art for Beginners

Mindful Art Quick Exercises

*Mindful Art Meditation Tutorials - YouTube

Riffing on breath drawings

eg. Drawing the breath in different directions. Using color between the lines.  Drawing the breath on a pre-painted surface.  Breath drawing using music.

Above: Breath Drawing, Triada Samaras 2026, Acrylic on panel, 14 x 11 inches

Above: Neurographic Art

Above: Euclidian Web (Breath Drawing/Painting, Triada Samaras 2025, Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 18 inches

Feelings Charts and Information

Connect With Yourself | Feelings Wheel

Claim Your Emotions: How to Identify and Name What You're Feeling

Credits

*Copyright Mindful Creative Muse LLC 2016 - Present.  www.mindfulcreativemuse.com

Tsaousides, T., et al. (2018). Emotional Regulation Workbook 3rd Edition. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, NY, NY

Monroe Township: The Healing Power of Symbols and Imagery with Triada Samaras and in memory of Eloise Bruce

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

In memory of Eloise Bruce

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

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The photos here capture teachers immersed in the creative process, documenting the transition from personal reflection to practical classroom tools.

Tags: Mindful Art, Teacher Well-being, Social-Emotional Learning, Art Integration