Walking into Anthony Holand’s studio is entering a fabulous hub of creativity. Unsurprisingly, with a three-year waitlist of clients, he is hard at work. Holand is fashioning a complex, 48-inch weathervane of the Concord, the ship that English barrister and explorer Bartholomew Gosnold sailed on when he renamed Martha’s Vineyard from Noepe, the Wampanoag name for the Island.
Holand owns Tuck & Holand Metal Sculptures, which is celebrating its 50th year. He is a master craftsman who blends traditional techniques with innovative designs. He creates not only original weathervanes but also custom bronze, brass, and copper cardinal points, Island wall maps, belt buckles, and sculptures.
Holand began working with metal at a very young age. Born and raised in Washington State, he spent summers harvesting wheat and barley on his family’s 7,000-acre farm. “We had some 50 years’ worth of scrap metal lying around, so I taught myself how to weld. I stayed up too late playing with Legos and Play-Doh, and enjoyed painting, drawing, and sculpture.”
With art in his veins, Holland initially studied commercial art at North Idaho College. He then returned to Washington to attend Columbia Basin College, where he fell in love with the lost-wax bronze casting technique at its foundry.
Holand traveled to the Vineyard with a friend in 1996, where he worked at Wheel Happy bike shop and the Hot Tin Roof: “I had a ball. People-wise, it was as West Coast as you could get on the East Coast. Everybody was really chill. It was just a great place to be.”
Holand returned here the following summer, after which he found himself at loose ends. With his love for working in metal ever present, he responded to an ad in the paper to be an apprentice with Travis Tuck (1943–2002), who had opened his studio in 1974.
Although an accomplished sculptor in copper and wrought iron, Tuck had never built a weathervane until 1974, when he was commissioned to create a shark to top Quint’s shack for the film “Jaws.” The project changed the course of Tuck’s life, and he became a premier weathervane artist.
Most weathervanes are created by hammering copper sheets into molds from an original wooden carving. Tuck, though, worked freehand, never relying on a mold. Each weathervane becomes a singular work of art, with every hammer blow an integral part of the creative process.
“I came and checked the studio out, and I thought, Wow, this could be a fun gig,” Holand recalls. “Out of about 20-plus people, I got the job.”
Holand didn’t just soak in the artistic process. “I learned how to sustain the whole business aspect — dealing with clients, marketing, sales. The art was the easy part.”
In 2002, the two artisans proudly announced the formation of Tuck & Holand Metal Sculptors. Sadly, Tuck lost a valiant battle with cancer later that same year.
Holand maintains Tuck’s open-studio policy, welcoming people in and taking them through the commission process: “You never know who will walk through the door. You get a much better understanding of the art and its value this way.”
“Things are still made by hand. They are not off the shelf,” he explains. “You can have a very specific piece made for you. With the custom pieces, they are one-of-a-kind. Other weathervane artists will make you a weathervane that becomes part of their catalog that other people can purchase in different sizes, defeating your weathervane’s value.”
Clients initially collaborate with Holand to determine a piece’s design, size, and complexity. Some come up with an idea of what they would like; others do not. “It’s anywhere from, ‘We want a female blue crab,’ to them having no idea what they want.”
He draws the plans, consulting closely with them to create a unique design that captures their original vision. Once the drawings are approved, he provides a quote with cost estimates and the timeline for completion.
Holand Photoshops the drawing of the piece onto a picture of the house to see how it will look in situ, and get a better idea of scale and size. From there, he enlarges the drawing, dividing it into sections. These become the templates that he uses to cut the copper sheet into corresponding pieces, much like using a pattern to make a garment.
The next step is shaping and then brazing the different components together. After adding the finishing touches, Holand ships the work off, including all the custom-made components needed for mounting. Depending on the roof, he will install the weathervane, or guide those who do.
The entire process, from contract to completion for a unique work, lasts several months to a year and a half. Limited-edition weathervanes range from $8,500 to $18,000; custom ones begin at $35,000.
Over the years, he’s done hundreds of evocative figures — some drawn from nature, some from contemporary life. His impressive portfolio includes an 11-foot seahorse sculpture, a 10-foot Nittany Lion for Penn State, and the iconic shark weathervanes for the 50th anniversary of “Jaws.”
Holand’s clients hail from the Vineyard to Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Europe. Ironically enough, one was Steven Spielberg, the director of “Jaws.” Twenty-two years after it all began, Spielberg commissioned a four-foot copper velociraptor from his movie “Jurassic Park” for his estate on Long Island.
“I’m so appreciative to do what I do on the Vineyard. How fortunate am I that this is how I make a living — with fantastic clients and people who appreciate it? I always wanted to be an artist or sculptor, so go figure.”
For more information, visit tuckandholand.com and @tuckandholand.
