When the new weather vane at the bandstand in Ocean Park is unveiled, it will be a product of a centuries-old trade brought to new life by Anthony Holand of Tuck and Holand Metal Sculptors.

The new whale that will adorn the bandstand, connecting Ocean Park to the creatures of the sea, sat in the metal shop on State Road in Vineyard Haven last week. Forged from dark copper, it gleamed brightly with patches of red. In a few short weeks in the open air, the colors will fade, turning the whale from brown to blue, matching the range of shades that glint off Nantucket Sound nearby.

First the whale awaits its fins, which Mr. Holand was hammering out last Monday morning. Sitting at a stool made from a solid block of a tree trunk, piled with different blocks of wood on which to hammer out the metal, Mr. Holand turned the fins over in his hands, stopping to examine the precise width of the delicate appendages. His trade resists the infiltration of time and technology.

“The technique is called repoussé, which means hammering from behind. It’s the same way that the Statue of Liberty was made,” he explained.

The tradition connects Mr. Holand to the iconic examples of metalwork throughout the country, and also explains why his pieces last much longer than the average commercially-made weather vane. “That’s the nice part of making this stuff — it will last for generations, and get passed down from one family member to the next. It’s not a temporary thing,” he said. “The grasshopper on Fanueil Hall, which was made like this, is from 1783. And it’s still there.”

Mr. Holand’s clients recognize the lasting nature of the works they commission, but also appreciate their aesthetic value. Though his work is meant to stand outside, several clients have moved their metal sculptures into their homes.

Mr. Holand apprenticed with and eventually took over the business of the late Travis Tuck, a well-known Vineyard metal sculptor whose weather vanes still dot the tops of private and public buildings around the Island. But he said his fine arts training has taken the work in a new direction. “The style has definitely evolved — I have more of an artistic flair, and generally I add a little more fine art to Travis [Tuck]’s original style. Or I just add movement — I’m just trying to keep it fresh and innovative; I’m always coming up with new ideas to do that,” he said.

Currently Mr. Holand is working on a globe for a family that likes to travel. Each place they have visited will be marked by a speck of gold leaf. On the outside of the orb, a plane made of copper bars swings around, proudly pronouncing the family’s name on a banner streaming from the tail.

He said his understanding of the materials he uses explains much of his success, commercial and artistic. “It’s a special skill — either you have it or you don’t,” he said. “Either you can take the copper and bring it to life, or you can’t. You can just make something and weld it together perfectly, but if it doesn’t have any life, it just gets pretty stagnant and stale. We set ourselves apart from the other makers because, if you have that skill, the work just comes alive naturally when you make it.”

The bandstand whale is a perfect example — the curvature of its spine makes the sculpture swim atop its perch even in the studio. And when the wind blows across Ocean Park and the sun casts a moving shadow on the ground, it will be fully brought to life, displaying the full range and ingenuity of Mr. Holand’s skill.