From Redundancy to Sculpting with Frode Bolhuis
- Feb 21
- 7 min read
Updated: 2 hours ago
I kickstarted 2025 with redundancy, which was… nice.
I’d spent most of my career in brand, digital and printed media, and marketing - living in pixels, deadlines, campaigns, and the endless hum of “Can we just tweak this?” I was good at it. I knew how to listen, understand what was needed, and then shape ideas into clear and polished deliverables.
When I was made redundant, I did what felt sensible: I frantically searched for roles that matched my skill set, obsessively refreshing LinkedIn. In reality, I was quietly spiralling, increasingly disillusioned by what was out there.
So I searched YouTube, LinkedIn, Indeed, ChatGPT, but I was inspired by nothing.
Out of habit more than intention, I opened Pinterest. Throughout my adult life - with anxiety weaving in and out, and a couple of dips into depression - Pinterest has been oddly cathartic. Yes, it’s now flooded with adverts (deep sigh), but if you chip away at the surface, the algorithm starts to deliver the good stuff...
...and there it was, The Daily Sculptures of Frode Bolhuis
Delicate yet powerful neon pastel figures, unlike anything I’d seen before - I couldn’t get enough. Although it’s a completely different genre, I hadn’t felt this jolted by an artists work since seeing Cathy de Monchaux at the Tate in the 90s, yet that same feeling came back to me right there on my sofa in 2025.
I know it sounds dramatic, but I immersed myself in Frode’s work for days. I read every article I could find, often using Google Translate to navigate Dutch content. I studied his colour palettes. I zoomed in on hands, feet, and the phenomenal tiny details. I spammed his Instagram with 'like' after 'like'; his phone must have been on a constant ping!
On 11th February 2025, I left a comment on one of Frode’s workshop reels asking if he’d ever consider running a course in the UK:
Me; Hello ❤️ Would you consider a workshop in the UK please?..
Frode: Yes, it’s on my list...if you know a good place to host it.
Me: I will absolutely find one for you!! ☺️🇬🇧
Frode: Great, I’ll send you a pm!
Me: 🙌
I could not have predicted what would happen next...
Frode: Hey Kezza, that’s a nice offer! ...
I’m curious if there is a beautiful studio space of around 150- 200 m2 (30 participants) ...
The atmosphere is more important than practicality’s ... I’m really just playing with the idea. I can’t promise anything yet.
Me: How amazing the internet is 🌎♥️ ☺️
We have the wonderful Derby Silk Mill (thought to be the first ever factory in the world!) ... Three years ago it reopening its doors as the Museum of Making ...
I reached out to the Museum of Making in my home town of Derby - a venue I already loved. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Museum of Making is a stunning and contemporary space telling Derby’s 300-year history of making to inspire new creativity. (Please do visit if you can 🥰)
I sent emails, made introductions, and connected dots, and the rest is beautiful history.
On 19th August 2025, thirty like-minded, wonderful people gathered from all over the world for Day One of Frode Bolhuis's five-day course in Derby. When I say 'all over the world', I really mean it! Hong Kong, Australia, America, and the Netherlands, in fact, there was only a handful of us from the UK!
And suddenly, the year that had begun with redundancy felt very different.
Day One
We began with ‘Daily Gymnastics’: Four very short making exercises using classic plasticine. These rapid fire exercises help fuel creativity and avoid procrastination. Make a 🚀🐭🍄🐶 Then we get immersed in Sculpey polymer clay; practicing with colour and texture. Next was armature making including welding in the stunning workshops. Then more clay!! Ending the day with a brain full of inspiration.
Day Two
Daily Gymnastics: Today we made: 🫖🧸🍍🐻 Whilst continuing with clay colour and texture exploration, we watch demonstrations from Frode throughout the day: adding hands, feet, muscles, head, facial expressions, and skin to our armatures, and the last demonstration was clothing and hair.
We then had 3 hours to complete our first sculpture, which Frode calls a ‘sketch’ (precision and perfection are not required today - only observation and connection). The final ten-minute countdown was so much fun - it felt much like The Great Pottery Throwdown! We lined up our work for a rogues gallery photoshoot! It was fascinating to see the variety of poses and personalities of these small yet intricate figures. Boxing gloves hid my poor attempt at hands 🤣
Day Three
Daily Gymnastics: Today we made: 🌼✈️🍌🐤 We had the entire day to make a sculpture from start to finish! The day began really well and I actually managed to sculpt a pair of hands!! Then, I appeared to over-commit to a joyful, yet incredibly time consuming droplet pattern, and ended up rushing to get finished - I improvised by cloaking the top half (I messed up the hands and so amputated the arms at the shoulder!! Shhhh, don’t tell Frode 🤣) #sorry
On the evening of Day Three, Frode gave the most inspiring presentation.
Frode told us about his life as an artist, beginning with a hand-written note at 8 years old declaring his love for art and a want to follow in creative family footsteps. Frode comes from a long line of sculptures and he actually trained as an apprentice here in the UK in his late teens. Although Frode’s earlier work in bronze and wood is incredible, this later body of work in polymer clay is by far my favourite.
The shorter making time of Frode’s ‘Daily Sculptures’ allows him to stay suspended in the initial and joyful creative space which I’m sure many artists will agree, is the best part of making ♥️ Thank you Frode 👏🏻
Day Four
Daily Gymnastics: Today we made: 🚙🛋️🦂🐡 After coffee, we begin to create our third and final sculpture. I enjoyed yesterdays colour palette and process so much that I decided to repeat this, but this time with more consideration and care, and time. I prepared all my little dots in preparation for moulding into droplets…my armature stands waiting, patiently.
Mid-morning Frode demonstrated how he makes one of his most useful tools - I’ll call it a spatula as I can’t quite remember the actual name! Throughout the day we went in pairs to the workshop to make our own Frode-tool! We heated a stainless steel rod and used the anvil to forge the steel into a flat precision tool (mine was not quite so precise).
Side note: the workshops at the Museum of Making in Derby are phenomenal! If any makers are interested in the facilities, just reach out to them; the staff are super nice!
Day Five
Daily Gymnastics: Today we made: 📣🐿️🐙🐊 The vibe today was pure concentration as we all continue with our third and final sculpture for our afternoon exhibition. My armature slowly began to take shape, with help from Frode for the face. My intention was carry the droplets up and over the head as a hood, but as I reached the top I realised that I wanted to keep the shoulders bare to show the delicate human form. I worked fairly chilled all day, trying to savour the final hours with new friends, until the last half an hour where I felt like I was on The Great Pottery Throwdown 🤣🏃🏼♀️
After the final sculptures were being fired, we all worked together to curate our work into one cohesive exhibition. The room buzzed with mutual admiration, support, reflection, and friendship - it was truly wonderful.
Thank you to Derby Museums for the lovely staff and their friendliness, and of course the stunning (and highly recommended!) venue. And of course, Frode Bolhuis 👌🏻 Thank you for choosing Derby to share your knowledge, kindness, and inspiration. I hope to see you again.
Who is Frode Bolhuis and how can i attend his course?
Frode Bolhuis creates sculptures that feel like small, self-contained worlds. His figures are playful, colourful, and seem to carry traces of forgotten myths, ancient stories, or half-remembered dreams. Each piece invites the viewer into a space where the familiar and the magical meet. Frode periodically offers short and intensive courses world wide - join his waiting list to be notified of upcoming events.
Learn more about him and his courses here: www.frodebolhuis.nl/
What is the Museum of Making, and what can i see and do there?
Celebrating the area’s rich history of innovation, the Museum of Making Derwent Valley Mills – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – is a contemporary space telling Derby’s 300-year history of making to inspire new creativity. Derby Silk Mill is widely regarded as the site of the world’s first modern factory, built in the valley that changed the world. Industry brought prosperity to some and poverty and wage slavery to others. Yet it shaped Derby as a city of making and creativity.
From the world’s smallest engine run using a human hair, to a seven tonne Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine suspended in a new atrium above visitors’ heads, there are 30,000 objects for the public to enjoy. With a treasure trove of objects displayed according to the materials from which they are made, the museum invites people to create their own journey through 300 years of making.
Entry to the Museum of Making is free, with the exception of some temporary exhibitions.
www.derbymuseums.org/museum-of-making
Email info@derbymuseums.org
Call 01332 641901.
Address Silk Mill Lane, Derby, DE1 3AF
The entrance - Head across Cathedral Green towards the front of the Silk Mill. Look for the famous Bakewell Gates and enter through the large glass atrium entrance.
New friendships
One of the most unexpected parts of that week was the friendships formed. It’s easy to criticise the digital world - and rightly so at times - but without Instagram, without Pinterest, without those initial online exchanges, none of us would have been in that room together. Digital connection made it possible; real-life connection made it meaningful.
There’s something powerful in that balance, and it reminded me never to underestimate the value of gathering in person to make things with other humans.
Frode’s course cemented something I’d been circling for years: I didn’t want to sit in front of a screen, I wanted to work with my hands and create one-off, individual pieces of art, objects with personality and presence.
Around this time, ceramics had quietly begun floating back into my thoughts, which was frankly ridiculous given how much I’d disliked that mud stuff at university. Surely I didn’t want to work with clay again?
Did I?
