During the summer of 2005, Welding Works helped artist Douglas Kornfeld make his vision of the “Tree of Life” come to life at Clinton Avenue Public School in New Haven, Connecticut. Commissioned by the city as part of its 1% for the Arts Commission, the artist had very tight budget restraints, and Welding Works won the job with an aggressive pricing bid. "He gave us the sketches of the project, and we figured out a way to make it happen within his budget," said Walter Camp, Welding Works' Vice President.

Welding Works formed the 10 “branches” of the tree from 3” steel pipe, spending 2 to 4 hours bending each pipe on a hydraulic press to match full-size paper templates supplied by the artist. The base of each branch was cut to fit flat, grinded smooth, and then tacked to a temporary steel base plate for stability while Welding Works welded the cross points together.

After the branches were securely welded in place, Welding Works began the task of attaching more than 40 decorative steel ring cutouts. Each ring is welded to a branch with a 2” weld. After the final base plate was attached, the sculpture was sandblasted, painted and clear coated prior to installation the Clinton Avenue School. The completed laser cut steel sculpture stands 17’ tall and 17’ wide, and is just 1’ deep.