by Len Lear

When I was a kid, my mother would occasionally say, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” If she had known internationally acclaimed artist, Patrick Dougherty, she might have said, “Sticks may not break my bones, but they may be used to make spectacularly beautiful and most unusual art.”

Dougherty, 73, will be an artist in-residence at the Morris Arboretum for three weeks, from March 12 to 29. During this time he will work with volunteers and staff to design a unique, site-specific piece of art from twigs, saplings, branches and sticks that takes shape as he designs it, inspired by the garden’s surroundings. Construction involves all woven materials without the use of nails or other supportive hardware. Each sculpture is named after it is designed. Dougherty’s work runs the artistic gamut, ranging from tall wispy towers to playful abstracts.

Born in Oklahoma in 1945, Dougherty was raised in North Carolina. He earned a B.A. in English from the University of North Carolina in 1967 and an M.A. in Hospital and Health Administration from the University of Iowa in 1969. Later, he returned to the University of North Carolina to study art history and sculpture.

Combining his carpentry skills with his love of nature, Dougherty began to learn more about primitive techniques of building and to experiment with tree saplings as construction material. In 1982 his first work, “Maple Body Wrap,” was included in the North Carolina Biennial Artists’ Exhibition, sponsored by the North Carolina Museum of Art.

That first stick work, a man-size tangle of saplings made on a picnic table at home, startled his professors, Dougherty once said during an interview with the New York Times. They thought “it was too complete for someone who’d been blundering around in the netherworld…

“It’s a problem-solving event, and problems arise every day. You have to be flexible. I like working with sticks, but it’s really an excuse to have these experiences. One is to be bad and play out some kind of stick thing in a public place, like pulling your pants down, and another is this huge outpouring from people who don’t know you and walk up to you and say, ‘What is this?’”

In 1983, Dougherty had his first one-person show, entitled “Waitin’ It Out in Maple,” at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. His work quickly evolved from single pieces on conventional pedestals to monumental scale environmental works, which required saplings by the truckloads. Over the last 30 years, he has built over 250 of these works and become internationally acclaimed. His sculpture has been seen worldwide, from Scotland to Japan to Brussels and all over the U.S.

Dougherty first came to the Morris Arboretum to create one of his stick sculptures in April of 2009. The piece he created was a 26-foot high sculpture called “The Summer Palace,” reminiscent of Russia’s Byzantine architecture.

By popular request, Dougherty returned in 2015 to create “A Waltz in the Woods,” seven interconnected towers of woven willow saplings, each roughly 30 feet high, that thrilled adults for their drama and children as the ultimate hide-and-seek adventure as they ran in and out of the seemingly sky-high towers.

These distinctly fragrant towers were a bit askew, as though one dance partner was being dipped. Open windows created an airy feel, and opposing doors allowed for travel between the towers. The variations in shape and size created a unique sense of flow and a maze-like feel. The negative space within the circle of the towers paid homage to “The Summer Palace.”

As Morris Arboretum began planning for its 2019 exhibits, Dougherty was at the top of the list. The location for his newest creation will once again be the Madeleine K. Butcher Sculpture Garden, which has perfect site lines from various spots in the garden.

No one knows what the newest creation will be, but Morris Arboretum invites visitors to come see Dougherty at work, weekdays from March 12 to 29. The finished piece will open on Saturday, March 30. It is supported by the Madeleine K. Butcher Fine Arts Endowment.

For more information about Dougherty, visit stickwork.net. For other information, visit morrisarboretum.org. You can contact Len Lear at lenlear@ chestnuthilllocal.com