it’s clear that Corina is a true artist: she quite simply must make art in order to survive.” Claire Meaney, Director of Réalta
Dutch born Corina Duyn has always been creative. She made tiny dolls clothes at a very young age, her first doll aged ten and first puppet aged 15. After working as a nurse and social care worker Corina moved to Ireland in 1989/90 and (accidentally) started her arts career. She became know for her Fantasy Folk Artist Dolls with focus on Irish Folklore. Her work is in private and corporate collections around the world. Becoming ill with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) in 1998, aged 36, changed her work to (inevitably) explore the inner landscape of illness. See slideshow of some images below.
The recurring themes in the early years were simple drawings and paintings of eggs, birds and flight. After many years a shift occurred from the desire to ‘fly away’ from illness to a more ‘grounded’ reality. Roots often featured in her sculptures. These works were created twenty minutes at the time, each over several months. Exploring weaving was like an unexpected form of meditation. Moving each thread under and over. Under and over. Exploring the play of colour. Experimenting with texture. Every action a metaphor for life.
This experiencing of movement ultimately led her back to making puppets. Her great love. Corina often remarked: ‘Puppetry forced me to look deep into the reality of my illness. Poetry defined the experience.’
When her illness relapsed and making puppets became no longer possible, she was introduced to extraordinary art of shadow puppetry, which led to the Invisible Octopus video poem.
In 2021 Corina moved into long term care which was the theme of the ground breaking ‘I brought the dream of flying exhibition (2023) And the award winning book of collages ‘In bed I cut words’. (2024)
Little Wings Creative Archive
To make all of Corina’s work accessible including for research, her books are being prepared for ISSUU online book format in early 2026. Her full Little Wings creative archive, including art, prints, books, videos, news paper clippings, and notebooks from the Fantasy Folk era to the present day can be visited at the Réalta Centre of Arts + Health in Waterford, Ireland. For information and booking, please see Réalta website.
See also Blog for example ‘23 year long creative history of living with ME (2021) or a more recent post Creativity Archived (2025)
Below are a few images of her art in slideshow format, from Fantasy Folk to early years of illness, puppets, and small tapestries. See also her other website pages about writing, puppetry, videos, CV, Referenced, etc, for information about her extensive art archive, as well as her BLOG for information about several exhibitions along the way and Creative CV for a listings.
(You can use the sidebar on top left to access main pages, or search box on top right on webpage to find any specific topic or page.)
Thank you for your interest.
The Visual Journey gallery – Fantasy Folk and a sample of works created during illness
Small Tapestries gallery
Puppetry
