Rhythm in everyday aesthetics: an exploration through Doodling and Sgraffito

Everyday life has its own flow and rhythm—diurnal, seasonal, and related to daily habits and rituals. The aesthetics of everyday life include acts and artefacts that are often unintentionally aesthetic, byproducts of essential necessities or leisurely acts. Doodling and sgraffito can be considered under the latter category in that they are often unintentional aesthetic acts. The concept is intriguing both in the context of everyday life and in relation to rhythm and flow. Research suggests that everyday activities can be strongly related to rhythm and lead to a sense or state of flow, a state of deep absorption in a task, which is widely studied for its benefits in various domains, and is often associated with work one enjoys for its own sake. The objective of the study is to investigate the process and outcome of doodling and sgraffito-making in terms of the visual rhythm they might reflect and the flow states they may induce. To address this, two studies were conducted with doodling and sgraffito. In both, a self-administered questionnaire was circulated, 40 doodle artists were asked to complete an online survey and upload their doodle images. Sixty-five participants in a sgraffito workshop were also asked to create sgraffito artwork. Data were analysed using qualitative tools and descriptive statistics. Findings suggest that rhythm plays an important role in the artwork of both doodlers and sgraffito-makers, especially more for doodlers. Additionally, both activities are considered as an open-ended and immersive activity where the participants lose sense of time and space while immersed in creative activity, indicating a strong link to flow experience. Flow, as an internal part of rhythm of immersive experience, is found to play a key role in such activities.