{"id":3266,"date":"2015-12-31T10:19:19","date_gmt":"2015-12-31T10:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.corinaduyn.com\/site\/?page_id=3266"},"modified":"2026-03-18T17:56:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T17:56:39","slug":"corina-duyn","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.corinaduyn.com\/site\/","title":{"rendered":"Corina Duyn"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Corina Duyn. (Photo by Caroline Schofield 2022)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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\u2018It 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.\u2019  <\/span>Maeve Butler, Assistant Director R\u00e9alta\/Waterford Healing Arts<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Many thanks for your visit. <\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Through my art, puppetry, and writing pages, the longer stories on my blog, videos on YouTube, and ISSUU digital books<\/a> <\/strong>, 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 R\u00e9alta, Centre of Arts+Health, Waterford, Ireland. A visit can be booked via their website, see link bottom of page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A very short history<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

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 \u2018proper\u2019 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019 items and led to private and corporate commissions in Ireland and around the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Illness<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The sudden start and rapid decline in my health due to the debilitating neurological disease Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) <\/span> 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<\/a><\/strong> (2006), to Invisible Octopus<\/a><\/strong> (2020) a video poem described by R\u00e9alta as \u201can extraordinary and succinct illustration of life with ME.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Artist in care<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

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\/R\u00e9alta 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<\/a><\/strong> exhibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this time,  <\/span>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 \u2018illustrated poems\u2019, 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 \u2018In bed I cut words\u2019<\/a><\/strong>. July 2025 I was transferred to another nursing home and while not long here, I heard that my book won the CAP Award under anthologies for Independent Authors<\/a>.<\/strong> Both the exhibition and the book were supported by Creative Waterford. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am thanking Waterford City and County Council’s Creative Ireland Programme for their generosity and incredible believe in me and my work, to fund the publication of all my books, projects, poems, articles on ISSUU<\/a><\/strong>. All can be accessed for free. Published with the help of Red Heaven Design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The team at Creative Waterford are honoured to support Corina\u2019s wonderful work which gives us insight into the necessity of creative expression and her feelings about moving into a care setting.\u2019 Katherine Collins, Creative Waterford<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Thank You<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

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  <\/span>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 \u2018It happened on the Late Late Show<\/a>\u2019<\/strong> (1993) to more recently Brendan O\u2019Connor reading my letter about Home<\/a> <\/strong>(2025) and Niall MacMonagle\u2019s words in his art column \u2018A fearless artistic voice refusing to be silenced<\/a>\u2019<\/strong>(2025). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you ALL for joining me on my journey through life. <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Be Well <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corina \u2013 Artist in care <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

January 2026<\/p>\n\n\n

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Corina at the Art archive at R\u00e9alta.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Read or view my creative journey in more detail<\/h4>\n\n\n\n