Patrick Dougherty’s ‘Stickwork’ Installations Conjure Connections with Nature

For more than four decades, environmental artist Patrick Dougherty has reimagined the technical and sculptural capabilities of one simple material: twigs. Over the years, the North Carolina-based artist completed well over 300 large-scale, site-specific installations in a series he calls Stickworks, using literal truckloads of willow saplings from specialized farms in Canada that grow them for applications like fencing, basketmaking, and more. Where possible, Dougherty has also incorporated materials the local area had to offer.

I first stumbled upon the artist’s whimsical constructions in Door County, Wisconsin, where “Happy Go Lucky” sits at Horseshoe Bay Farms near Egg Harbor. By the time I experienced the work, it had already been colonized by Virginia creeper vines, which turn bright red in the autumn. The piece is simultaneously structural and fantastical, providing an inviting armature for nature, including insects.

a public art sculpture in the forest made from interwoven twigs and saplings — “The Jealous Wall.” Image courtesy of Docent

Some of Dougherty’s public installations take architectural forms consisting of arches and towers, such as “Sea Change” and “Rough ‘n Tumble.” “All in the Family” resembles a group of larger-than-life urns. And others lean into a sense that the forest is always in a state of reclaiming. “The Jealous Wall” is constructed around existing buildings, as if the saplings are growing in slow motion and and engulfing everything in its path, not unlike the way nature, left to its own devices, will always redeem its space. All of his works emphasize an invitation, as visitors are encouraged to walk around and through the sculptures.

Pieces created over the past decade or so also bear the signature of artist Sam Dougherty, who provided full-time assistance in addition to his own pottery practice. Semi-retired now, Patrick Dougherty is still making works in his studio, and a recent exhibition at the Brahm Blowing Rock Art & History Museum included a wall-to-wall display of gloves collected over the years and signed by the volunteers who helped to install the works. Explore more from the archive on the artist’s website.

a whimsical, architectural public art sculpture made from interwoven twigs and saplings — “Happy Go Lucky.” Image courtesy of Horseshoe Bay Farms

a whimsical, architectural public art sculpture made from interwoven twigs and saplings amid a wooded area — “Hopscotch.” Image courtesy of The Wild Center

a whimsical, arched, architectural public art sculpture made from interwoven twigs and saplings — “Grand Center.” Photo by Bob Joy

a detail of a whimsical, architectural public art sculpture made from interwoven twigs and saplings — Detail of “All in the Family.” Photo by Blake Marvin

a public art sculpture in a park amid palm trees made from interwoven twigs and saplings — “Sea Change.” Photo by Brian Janssen

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