David C. Calicchio

Patrick Dougherty will deliver a Messenger lecture Oct. 23.

Oregon State University; Frank Miller

Dougherty, who created structures similar to these in Collegetown in 2006, will visit campus during the week of Oct. 21.

Patrick Dougherty, an artist who has created more than 240 plant-based sculptures, will deliver a Messenger lecture and other talks during the week of Oct. 21.

Dougherty uses minimal tools and a well-honed technique to bend, interweave and fasten together sticks and tree saplings, with the help of volunteers, to create an intricately woven network of natural materials that evoke images of nests, igloos, urns, cocoons, cones castles and beehives. In 2006 Dougherty, as a Cornell Council for the Arts artist-in-residence, created a complex array of sculptures that resembled primordial huts in Collegetown. The winner of numerous awards, he has created such works all over the country as well as in Europe and Asia and has chronicled his art in “Stickwork” (2010).

His public Messenger presentation, “Stickwork,” will be part of the University Course, The Art of Horticulture, and will take place Wednesday, Oct. 23, at 12:20 p.m. in 305 Ives Hall.

Other opportunities to hear or speak with Dougherty include:

• An informal presentation Oct. 21, 2-4 p.m. in 102 Mann Library on the value to any discipline of engaging with plants and art;
• A discussion on public art and public space Thursday, Oct. 24, in G71 Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, 7-8 p.m.; and
• A hands-on workshop at the Ithaca Children’s Garden, Friday, Oct. 25, during the afternoon. Check the Ithaca Children’s Garden website for details.