Within a few hundred feet after you enter Eliza Howell Park in northwest Detroit, you immediately see an amazing natural sculpture rising from the ground.
I was impressed when I saw it and wondered who created it, and how it was made.
From what I learned from Sidewalk Detroit, the organization that hosted the artist, the “Stickwork” sculpture was created by artist Patrick Dougherty.
With the help of over 150 artists, volunteers, neighbors, and other members of the public who worked alongside Dougherty, the sculpture was installed in 2021.
It’s entirely hand-woven of natural materials.
About Patrick Dougherty
Raised in North Carolina, Dougherty earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina, a Master of Arts from the University of Iowa, and later returned to the University of North Carolina to study art history and sculpture.
He combined his carpentry skills with his love of nature to learn more about using tree saplings as construction material.
In 1982, Dougherty showed his first tree sapling work at the North Carolina Biennial Artists’ Exhibition.
He has now built over 300 “Stickwork” sculptures. Dougherty is internationally known, with installations in Japan, Scotland, Belgium, and all over the United States.
