Waiting for the Stick Man & the Meadowmorphisis

by Diana Plasberg, Stickwork Volunteer, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

While volunteering at the Lora Robins Library during GardenFest, I came across Stickwork, a book about Patrick Dougherty’s sculpture installations that are made from tree saplings and other organic materials. “Wow!” was my initial reaction. Sculptures and structures made from sticks – in trees, on hilltops, throughout building interiors. I was impressed with his vision and his ability to weave nature into art.

"Close Ties" a Patrick Dougherty sculpture commisioned by the Scottish Basketmakers Circle in Dingwall, Scotland. What will he create at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden?

Little did I know he was coming to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden to create one of his masterpieces. I learned of this from an email asking for volunteers to blog about their experience as a participant in the installation for three weeks in May. My response? “Count me in!” As a gardener, graphic designer and occasional artist, I’m eager to take part in an activity that not only combines my interests, but sends me down a new path of discovery as well. So, join me here to get an inside view of a day-in-the-life of this “Meadowmorphosis.”

With notebook and camera in hand, I look forward to picking up sticks, weaving them, and learning about the artist’s process. I wonder how local resources  and the community will influence him along way.  How will it inspire me? What else will I learn? I look forward to finding out and sharing those insights and more in the coming weeks.