Playing with sticks may seem like something we do when we're kids, but sculptor Patrick Dougherty has turned it into a lifelong career that takes him around the world.

"I wanted to make objects that were larger than life and could stand their ground in public space," Dougherty tells weather.com.

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In the last 30 years, he's built more than 240 of these towering stick structures in locations from Serbia to Wisconsin. The sticks and branches he uses come directly from the environment where he's working, which sometimes leaves him hunting for building materials in ugly weather.

"Finding materials is always a challenge," he says. "This year gathering saplings meant following the municipal tree trimmers in Seoul, (South) Korea one month, and then another month, using a horse-drawn wagon to harvest from a flooded woods along the Danube in Serbia."

The stick structures generally take Dougherty and his group of volunteers about three weeks to build. He keeps a tight time schedule, but since his canvas is the outdoors, Dougherty is constantly aware of the forecast.

"Generally I try to organize my installation schedule with weather in mind," he explains. "But each season brings unsuspecting surprises."

Among some of those "surprises" have included working in South Carolina during the same season when gators and snakes were waking up. Dougherty also talks about a brush with spring ice and snow during an April project in Stevens Point, Wis.

"Even the sturdy volunteers — all-weather natives — asked for a rain check that time," he muses.

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Whereas some art is around for centuries and displayed in dusty museums, Dougherty's creations have an average life cycle of about one to two years.

"I think the vulnerability of the objects and their mutability adds a provocative edge," Dougherty explains.

Doherty is sharing dozens of photos of his sculptures with weather.com via the slideshow above. Since he works year-round, one of his creations may be closer to you than you think. Check his website stickwork.net to see where his most recent sculptures stand, as well as where he'll be working next. You can also learn more about his process in his book "Stickwork", as well as the documentary "Bending Sticks" that's debuting at film festivals.

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