The work by the sculptor Gorka Urreiztieta, from Santurtzi, immortalises the history of the Somorrostro Training Centre. “The tree of life”, the name of the sculpture made from one of the cedars of Lebanon planted by the Marquis of Villarías more than 400 years ago on our campus, has now become part of the cultural heritage of Muskiz and its surroundings.

The event was presided over by Javier Laiseca, director of the centre, Ainara Leiba, mayoress of Muskiz and the artist Gorka Urreiztieta, with the writer Toti Martínez de Lezea from Alava as an exceptional guest.

“It is an important symbol for the municipality and of course for the school. We want this tree to continue to be part of the life of the residents of the municipality” said Javier Laiseca, director of the Somorrostro Training Centre.

“It has been a great challenge for me, not only because of the size of the tree, but also because it is about making a book on a set of trunk and branches that offered many possibilities to create small details depending on the state in which the wood was once cleaned and cleaned”, explained the sculptor.

At the base of the tree are, among other elements, a forge with its furnace, accompanied by baskets of ore, a shovel, an anvil and a bellows. The first level shows a borer, a mother with a boy and a younger girl clutching her clothes, and a girl with a computer. The second level shows a book held by hands, a welder’s mask with a blowtorch and a pulley with a chain that descends to the iron furnace.

You can see photos of the tree from its beginning until today in the following album