I am interested in the boat/canoe form as an associative object that can bring to mind issues that relate to history, exploration, and the importance of our waterways. The topiary characteristics of the canoe are intended to emphasize the importance of nature, growth, and our relationship to all rivers. It is my hope that each person who views the sculpture has an opportunity to contemplate their ideas and attitudes about these topics and consider their personal ideas about the world we live in.

Grade Level: 3–5

Project Title: Suitcase Stories

Objective: Use form to tell a journey story.

Activity: Students design a “traveling box” sculpture with symbolic compartments or shapes that represent places, memories, or future dreams.

Travelogue presents a horizontally extended aluminum vessel that recalls the skeletal form of a canoe, suggesting movement across space and time. Nordgulen describes his interest in the boat as “an associative object” connected to history, exploration, and waterways. The sculpture employs associative form—using recognizable shapes to evoke ideas and memories beyond literal representation—transforming a familiar structure into an open framework of linear clarity and engineered balance.

Elevated like an artifact ready for study, the work invites reflection on journeys both physical and symbolic. Its branch-like elements and streamlined geometry emphasize growth, transition, and the evolving relationship between human movement and the natural environment.