Best Stick Artist

Patrick Dougherty may be the only artist famous for creating stick figures.

• Best of America

Sculptor Patrick Dougherty loved playing outdoors as a kid in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Today he remains fascinated by nature, weaving twigs, saplings and branches into massive works "that bring birds' nests and woodland scenery to mind," says the 60-year-old artist. Traveling the globe, he produces eight to ten pieces a year, building them on-site. Now at work at the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio, he'll also produce installations at Cornell and Brown universities and in Scotland this year.

From Reader's Digest - May 2006