‘It is our privilege to be able to support this incredible, curious, thoughtful, direct, pragmatic and good humoured artist to continue her creative life, which is essential to her wellbeing.’ Maeve Butler, Assistant Director Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts
Many thanks for your visit.
Through my art, puppetry, and writing pages, the longer stories on my blog, videos on YouTube, and ISSUU digital books (early 2026), I hope to bring you along on my creative journey, many parts of which are lived through the illness ME. To my great honour my full Little Wings Creative Archive of over 30 years which includes books, prints, newspaper clippings, notebooks and more can be explored at Réalta, Centre of Arts+Health, Waterford, Ireland. A visit can be booked via their website, see link bottom of page.
A very short history
Looking back over my (creative) life I realise that my love and need to use my creative mind can be traced back to my early childhood in the Netherlands. In terms of making, the lack of funds for materials or a formal arts education led to freedom of expression as well as not having any constraints in the ‘proper’ use of materials or work methods. This continued throughout my life. A love of words emerged early on, with private and public libraries becoming some of my most treasured places.
Although trained and experienced as a care-nurse and social care worker, I became a full time artist after my move to Ireland in 1989. Fantasy Folk Artist Dolls became collectors’ items and led to private and corporate commissions in Ireland and around the globe.
Illness
The sudden start and rapid decline in my health due to the debilitating neurological disease Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) at the age of 36 (1998) changed my creative ability, intensity and output. My previous work, a gentle playful reflection on Irish folklore, unintentionally changed to documenting the harsh internal landscape of illness. The accumulated explorations became a resource for Arts and Health, Arts and Disability, and an accidental advocacy for a contested illness, from the first book Hatched- a creative journey though ME (2006), to Invisible Octopus (2020) a video poem described by Réalta as “an extraordinary and succinct illustration of life with ME.”
Artist in care
As my health continued to deteriorate and care at home was not sufficient to remain living independently, I made the incredibly difficult decision, aged 59, to move into full time nursing home care in 2021. I am forever grateful that Waterford Healing Arts/Réalta brought Artist Caroline Schofield into my room, my life, my art. Working with Caroline in my room was for both of us a big learning experience, understanding our different arts practices as well as finding ways to work together. As I slowly accepted the use of her hands it became a beautiful collaboration which moved beyond the confines of my little room to GOMA gallery in the shape of the ground breaking I brought the dream of flying exhibition.
During this time, I also found a way to create without the need for support. Over a year I tore/cut and collected words and images from weekend newspapers. The spontaneously created collages, or ‘illustrated poems’, were an intuitive response to my reflections on life in care and the question: what is home? This activity like all my other art also became extinct in time due to the deterioration in my hands and brain. However more than a year later some were published in ‘In bed I cut words’. This book won the CAP Award under anthologies for Independent Authors. Both the exhibition and the book were supported by Creative Waterford.
The team at Creative Waterford are honoured to support Corina’s wonderful work which gives us insight into the necessity of creative expression and her feelings about moving into a care setting.’ Katherine Collins, Creative Waterford
Thank You
I am so immensely privileged to have so many people and organisations share my work well beyond the confines of my nursing home room, and well beyond my ability to create. From Arts, Health, Puppetry, and Disability organisations to people I know to the many people in cyberspace. The private purchases of my work, to big awards all enabled me to create work to share my experiences. I am also indebted by the interest from written media, podcasts, videos, TV, and radio interviews, from the early beginning of ‘It happened on the Late Late Show’ (1993) to more recently Brendan O’Connor reading my letter about Home (2025) and Niall MacMonagle’s words in his art column ‘A fearless artistic voice refusing to be silenced’(2025).
Thank you ALL for joining me on my journey through life.
Be Well
Corina – Artist in care
January 2026
Read or view my creative journey in more detail
- Writing links to my books and poems since 2006. In early 2026 all my books will be published in digital format on ISSUU – Little Wings.
- Art contains glimpses of three decades of creativity, includes slideshows.
- Puppetry became the most powerful medium to explore ME, includes links to Invisible Octopus, lectures and puppet making course access details.
- Video page contains links to poetry, documentaries, lectures and puppetry films.
- Blog delves further into the creative process of my art and books. Also shares my love of nature, especially the birds, and thoughts on life.
- Facebook. Instagram. Contact Corina. Creative CV. Cited in .
- To learn more about Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), please visit ME Advocates Ireland Blog My personal experience is documented in several blog posts and I hope to publish an article on this website in the near future.
- Réalta, Centre of Arts+Health Waterford, Ireland is where my physical Creative Archive of over 30 years can be explored. A visit can be booked via their website.