"Diamonds in the Rough" stick sculpture by World-Famous Artist Patrick Dougherty

Throughout the first three weeks of May 2011, artist-in-residence Patrick Dougherty built a large-scale, temporary sculpture of woven sticks and saplings in the Anderson Meadow at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden; a transformational activity they called  “Meadowmorphosis.” Dougherty took inspiration from the surrounding environment and named the piece “Diamonds in the Rough” upon completion.

“Behind the Scenes” spoke with Dougherty as he completed the sculpture and took a look at the construction process.

Dougherty used locally gathered natural materials harvested in a sustainable way.  At least five tractor-trailer loads of sticks and saplings were used -- mainly young red maple and sweet gum saplings. They came from private rural tracts of land identified by the Virginia Department of Forestry.

The sculpture will be part of the Garden’s landscape as long as Nature allows. To find out more about “Diamonds in the Rough” and other events at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, visit www.lewisginter.org.