Patrick Dougherty at Work
Article by Thomas Hardy of Vero Communique.
In our last article we wrote about how it took three years for Patrick Dougherty’s “The Royals” Stickwork exhibit at McKee Botanical Gardens to come to be.
While part of this time had to do with collaborative planning, the fact is that Patrick works with a three-year backlog. Every month he is somewhere.
As an example, here is where he is creating his next eight exhibits.
2/2016 – Appleton Museum of Art, Ocala, FL
3/2016 – Atlanta Botanical Garden, Gainesville, GA
4/2016 – Astrid Lindgren Näs, Vimmerby, Sweden
6/2016 – Green Box Arts, Green Mt Falls, CO
8/2016 – Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Boylston, MA
9/2016 – College of Holy Cross, Worcester, MA
10/2016 – Hermitage Museum & Gardens, Norfolk, VA
11/2016 -Private installation, Big Sur, CA
In addition to creating scheduled exhibits Patrick has to travel to sites where he has been invited to create new exhibits.
During these visits he meets with all stakeholders, views the site and accesses the availability of materials required for his sculpture. Since Florida did not have the sticks he needed, as we wrote previously. they had to be procured and trucked in from Double A Willow in Fredonia, New York, which has developed a large impressive nursery to grow shrub willow.
In some cases Patrick has had to use Strawberry Guava.
Strawberry Guava Plant
Or Eucalyptus.
Eucalyptus Leaves
In North Carolina, Patrick has used Red Maple.
Northern Cardinal on Red Maple Twigs
It is important to note that Patrick is extremely conscientious about environmental stewardship and hopes that his work will inspire others to care as well.
No trees are killed outright in creating his sculptures. The saplings are cut in such a way that they will all re-grow, reproducing more saplings, much as they would after pruning.
When Patrick harvests in the wild, it is always done in areas where the sticks would be cut anyway, such as under power lines, or along highway right of ways; sometimes where a forest needs to be thinned because the undergrowth is too thick and not all the small trees can survive that way.
Basically, Patrick’s work schedule is that he creates his sculpture in three weeks, only taking one weekend off. That leaves him with one week off every month.
Patrick is 70 years old, still climbing up and down scaffolding and lifting and bending. With a three-year backlog, there will be no lack of exercise for this young fellow.
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With a knack for pointed marketing, Mr. Hardy collaborated with stakeholders to write all news releases, technical bulletins, and testimonials, with a talent for tuning complex subject matters into simplified, engaging and readable material.
"I wanted our users on the factory floor to pick up a three page technical bulletin on a new feature and be able to embrace it.This involved creativity in capturing their attention.
Mr. Hardy was the Chairman of a Digital Marketing symposium at the Mellon Institute in Pittsburgh, PA.As an event organizer, he was a National Advance man and aide for former President George H. W. Bush. Seeing a lack of true investigative journalism upon his relocation to Vero Beach, Mr. Hardy launched Vero Communiqué, what he refers to as an e-journal, rather than a blog.He has written over 200 articles designed to inform and educate the community he serves. His special interests include child development and literacy, the environment and health care.
A devoted volunteer at the Youth Sailing Foundation of Indian River County (YSF), he is the publisher/editor of their quarterly newsletter, Mainsheet, and recently out of over 75 submissions secured a first place $5,000 grant from Brooks Brothers to underwrite the enrollment of eight Vero Beach High School students in the sailing team.
- Part Three: A Little Bit About the Mechanics of Patrick Dougherty’s “Stickwork” Environmental Sculptures - February 11, 2016
- Part Two: How Did the Patrick Dougherty’s “Stickwork” Exhibition Come to be at the McKee Botanical Garden? - February 5, 2016
- Part One: Patrick’s Work with Children at Play - January 28, 2016