<p>Sculptor Patrick Dougherty works with sticks, much like birds, to create giant installations. Sujoy Dhar meets the unusual artist at work.<br /><br /></p>.<p>At the sprawling entrance to the 14,000-acre Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in Kentucky this April, 65-year-old Patrick Dougherty was the crowd puller with his unusual art work that throws us back to perhaps the days of early civilisation. He is a sculptor who creates rhapsody with tree saplings or sticks, weaving them in various shapes and forms, much like birds building their nests.<br /><br />Patrick’s work has evolved from single pieces on conventional pedestals to monumental scale environmental works, which he says requires saplings by the truckloads. Over the last 30 years, the North Carolina man has built over 230 of these works, and become internationally acclaimed with his shows held across the world. <br /><br />And for him, it all began with building his own home when the sculptor in him came out as he unusually chose tree saplings as raw materials.<br /><br />“For me, building a house was a vehicle that opened a new world of possibilities. It was a chance to work with a variety of materials.Working on my house was akin to letting the genie out of the bottle. I have had only one impulse to build a house, but that house was a doorway to a lifetime of making sculptures,” says Patrick, as curious onlookers gather round his work.<br /><br />Patrick Dougherty has been creating his king size, whimsical stick installations for three decades now.<br /><br />It was in the 1980s that Patrick gained recognition. “In the early 80s, I returned to the University of North Carolina to take some post-graduate courses in the art department, and my awareness blossomed. A curator at the NC Museum of Art, upon seeing a work of mine in a student show, encouraged me to submit a sculpture to a statewide sculpture show. There, the work was so well received that it led to many other offers,” says Patrick, who is currently penning his new book, Stickwork.<br /><br />Born in Oklahoma in 1945, Dougherty was raised in North Carolina. He earned a BA in English from the University of North Carolina in 1967 and an MA 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.<br /><br />It was a state arts grant which first helped him to buy a pick-up truck to transport saplings to locations outside North Carolina. <br /><br />Vast experience<br /><br />“This helped me build sculptures in a wider sphere. I also received a number of art prizes, grants and fellowships. These included an opportunity to travel with a national travelling exhibition called The Awards in the Visual Arts 8, which allowed me to build a series of works at museums across the US as part of the show,” he says.<br /><br />In another instance, a fellowship from the Japanese American Friendship Commission allowed Patrick to travel and work in Japan for six months. These breaks, taken together, helped him achieve some recognition in a larger sphere.<br /><br />According to Patrick, childhood has a big role to play in a sculptor’s choice of materials. For him, it was growing up in the woodlands of North Carolina that perhaps fired his imagination.<br /><br />“When I turned to sculpture in the early 80s, I had to rediscover what birds already knew — sticks have a tendency to entangle with each other. It is this simple tangle that holds my work together. When I bend them, I get good ideas. My search for them requires me to get out in the natural world. And my love for them is an excuse for having conversations with all the interesting people I meet,” he says.<br /><br />Interestingly, Patrick draws inspiration from people around him too. “The relationship that develops with people who live and work nearby has turned out to be a very interesting secondary gain. I think of conversations as a kind of cultural exchange, and I’ve learned to capitalise on the energy it generates in me,” he says.<br /><br />Patrick says his favourite work is always the one he is currently engaged in. “I love the process of coming up with an idea for a space and then building a sculpture which is compelling and draws the attention of people. I build 10 works a year and am fond of each one of them,” he says.<br /><br />Inspiration<br /><br />Patrick is inspired by makers of all sorts and enjoys sculpture of every ilk. “I read Sculpture Magazine and marvel at the new ideas and ways of working with materials. One of my current favourites is Spanish artist and sculptor Jaume Plensa,” says Patrick.<br />Inspired by Patrick, some other artists have also begun working with saplings in a serious way. <br /><br />“I enjoy my work and the travel it entails. I love building things that stir people’s imagination in spite of differences in culture. It connects us to our natural world,” he adds.</p>
<p>Sculptor Patrick Dougherty works with sticks, much like birds, to create giant installations. Sujoy Dhar meets the unusual artist at work.<br /><br /></p>.<p>At the sprawling entrance to the 14,000-acre Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in Kentucky this April, 65-year-old Patrick Dougherty was the crowd puller with his unusual art work that throws us back to perhaps the days of early civilisation. He is a sculptor who creates rhapsody with tree saplings or sticks, weaving them in various shapes and forms, much like birds building their nests.<br /><br />Patrick’s work has evolved from single pieces on conventional pedestals to monumental scale environmental works, which he says requires saplings by the truckloads. Over the last 30 years, the North Carolina man has built over 230 of these works, and become internationally acclaimed with his shows held across the world. <br /><br />And for him, it all began with building his own home when the sculptor in him came out as he unusually chose tree saplings as raw materials.<br /><br />“For me, building a house was a vehicle that opened a new world of possibilities. It was a chance to work with a variety of materials.Working on my house was akin to letting the genie out of the bottle. I have had only one impulse to build a house, but that house was a doorway to a lifetime of making sculptures,” says Patrick, as curious onlookers gather round his work.<br /><br />Patrick Dougherty has been creating his king size, whimsical stick installations for three decades now.<br /><br />It was in the 1980s that Patrick gained recognition. “In the early 80s, I returned to the University of North Carolina to take some post-graduate courses in the art department, and my awareness blossomed. A curator at the NC Museum of Art, upon seeing a work of mine in a student show, encouraged me to submit a sculpture to a statewide sculpture show. There, the work was so well received that it led to many other offers,” says Patrick, who is currently penning his new book, Stickwork.<br /><br />Born in Oklahoma in 1945, Dougherty was raised in North Carolina. He earned a BA in English from the University of North Carolina in 1967 and an MA 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.<br /><br />It was a state arts grant which first helped him to buy a pick-up truck to transport saplings to locations outside North Carolina. <br /><br />Vast experience<br /><br />“This helped me build sculptures in a wider sphere. I also received a number of art prizes, grants and fellowships. These included an opportunity to travel with a national travelling exhibition called The Awards in the Visual Arts 8, which allowed me to build a series of works at museums across the US as part of the show,” he says.<br /><br />In another instance, a fellowship from the Japanese American Friendship Commission allowed Patrick to travel and work in Japan for six months. These breaks, taken together, helped him achieve some recognition in a larger sphere.<br /><br />According to Patrick, childhood has a big role to play in a sculptor’s choice of materials. For him, it was growing up in the woodlands of North Carolina that perhaps fired his imagination.<br /><br />“When I turned to sculpture in the early 80s, I had to rediscover what birds already knew — sticks have a tendency to entangle with each other. It is this simple tangle that holds my work together. When I bend them, I get good ideas. My search for them requires me to get out in the natural world. And my love for them is an excuse for having conversations with all the interesting people I meet,” he says.<br /><br />Interestingly, Patrick draws inspiration from people around him too. “The relationship that develops with people who live and work nearby has turned out to be a very interesting secondary gain. I think of conversations as a kind of cultural exchange, and I’ve learned to capitalise on the energy it generates in me,” he says.<br /><br />Patrick says his favourite work is always the one he is currently engaged in. “I love the process of coming up with an idea for a space and then building a sculpture which is compelling and draws the attention of people. I build 10 works a year and am fond of each one of them,” he says.<br /><br />Inspiration<br /><br />Patrick is inspired by makers of all sorts and enjoys sculpture of every ilk. “I read Sculpture Magazine and marvel at the new ideas and ways of working with materials. One of my current favourites is Spanish artist and sculptor Jaume Plensa,” says Patrick.<br />Inspired by Patrick, some other artists have also begun working with saplings in a serious way. <br /><br />“I enjoy my work and the travel it entails. I love building things that stir people’s imagination in spite of differences in culture. It connects us to our natural world,” he adds.</p>
