“The One Place Where I Don’t Feel Frustrated”: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Art Students’ Experiences and Emotional Responses to the Flow State

Flow theory describes the highly focused state of being absorbed into an activity, causing a loss of self-consciousness and track of time. Research has suggested that this can lead to a happier and more fulfilling life. This study used interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to understand art students’ experiences of flow while making art and to acknowledge any emotional responses they have to this experience. Semi-structured interviews (conducted in 2021) were used to gain an enriched understanding of flow in six art students. The analysis found that all participants experienced flow while making art, and this experience was incredibly similar for all participants. In addition, no emotions were reported while the participants were in the flow state, yet positive emotions were associated with the experience of flow afterward. Interestingly, the participants reported negative emotions toward art without flow, suggesting that flow could be the incentive for wanting to produce art. These findings point to the importance of flow for experiencing happiness, and, unlike previous research, suggest that flow states can play a role in the motivation to make art. Future research should attempt to replicate these finding using other qualitative methods, such as event sampling, and explore the flow state in other activities.