"Bending Sticks" celebrates the 30 year career of internationally renowned environmental artist Patrick Dougherty, who has created hundreds of monumental, site-specific sculptures out of nothing more than saplings. The film follows the artist and his collaborators during a year of stick work and reveals Dougherty’s process, personal story and inspirations.

The heart of the film is the creation of five Dougherty commissions in different locations – inside the new wing of the NC Museum of Art, on Main Street in Rock Hill, SC, at a private home in Chapel Hill, NC, at the Bascom Art Center in the mountains of NC, and in the gardens of Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, DC. The film reveals Dougherty's creative process of transforming piles of sticks into energetic lines and exuberant forms. His projects invite collaboration and engage communities in the making and viewing of his very public art.