HATCHED by Corina Duyn re-hatched as E-Book

Creative adventures have a funny way to go around in spirals.
(And there I was, calling my last exhibition 'Full Circle'...)
Anyway.

Ten years ago I published my first book Hatched.
It was the pivotal point of my then eight year long adventure of learning to live with illness.

I truly believed at the time that when this book was published, that I could put these eight years on the (book)shelf and get on with my real life, i.e. a life without illness.

Ten years have passed since then. I have not recovered in the 'normal' sense of the word, but I am well in lots of other ways. Life is not as I had planned, but I am having a very interesting life all the same.
I write, I sculpt, I take photographs. I love my garden, love my studio, my house, my friends, life...

During this decade I had many challenges with ill health, but nothing is stagnant. Bad (energy) days do pass. Illness days do pass. Not fast or with full recovery, but there usually is a light at the end of the tunnel to be found.

So, creative spirals.

During the past decade I had several exhibitions and published three more books. Cirrus Chronicles - Landing in Ballynelligan (a fairy tale much loved by adults), Flying on Little Wings (a tiny book with words of wisdom from the birds), and most recently (exactly a year ago) Into the Light (a book in a box).
More details about all my books see HERE.

HATCHED- re-hatched E-Book 

The book-publishing-spiral in this case is that Hatched, my very first book, is now available as E-BOOK! I called it HATCHED -rehatched

For me this is a big step. To go from creating very tactile, and handmade books, to something that is only viewable on a computer or tablet...
One of the reasons is that Hatched is pretty much out of print. There are a few books here and there, but reprinting it as a 'normal' book is very expensive, and maybe this new format will actually reach a whole new audience.

I am immensely grateful to what Hatched has brought to my life. Through it I made contact with people all over the world. A very welcome 'side-effect', when living a life which is often lived in (near) solitude.

If you interested to download the HATCHED re-hatched E-Book (PDF) you can do so on my website, where there are also a few sample pages. The slightly edited book has 184 pages, full of images and very short observations. Suitable for all those who can only read for a few minutes. (Been there- done that!)

The introductory offer is €3.99.


Some reviews:

• Hatched is one of the most energetic, generous-hearted, sharp minded and inspiring book of poems I’ve read for quite a while. No matter at what page I open the book, I find a love of life, an appreciation of life, and a vibrant sense of privilege and gratitude. … Illness has somehow endowed Corina with the ability to conduct a dialogue with reality. She turns fragility into strength, disability into freedom, and confusion into beautiful normality. Poet Brendan Kennelly
• “Great day for a walk” – is not just a greeting, but a celebration for the human spirit. Hatched deserves an international audience, and merits a place on best-seller lists. Liam Murphy, Munster Express
• It is beautiful. Really beautiful. It gives me courage. Dianne Mawhood
• The lesson of this deeply personal yet emphatic diary that is Hatched is that you don’t have to get ME to embrace them. Christy Parker, Dungarvan Observer
• This is something really special and uplifting. Interaction Magazine I found tears rolling down my cheeks- tears of both empathy and relief. Corina has shared her experiences in a simple, beautiful, and human way. Sue Page
• Corina Duyn is living proof of the adage that you can’t keep a good woman down. Deirdre O’Flynn, Irish Examiner

The Flight Path documentary by Katie Lincoln about the making of Hatched, can be viewed here

The story of apples

I have two apples trees in my front garden. One, the nearest to the road is this gorgeous "Katie" variety with these tempting red apples.

Even weeks before they are ripe, people can't seem to resist picking them off the tree... I have seen people walk away with handfuls... and then throw them away as they are still too hard to eat.

So, I put up a note :
These apples are not ripe yet, so please don't pick them. And when they are ripe, would you please be so kind to ASK before picking them?"
Another option was: "Remember what happened to Adam and Eve?"

This turned into a topic of conversation among the many walkers along my road (which leads to the Lady Louisa's walk) I watched many people (tourists) take photographs. And I had some lovely conversations with these Lismore visitors.

As a direct result of these apples and note, a German couple came in to see my art and books and we had a very interesting chat about art and puppets. The man was Mask-Performer  . I have met Americans, English, Swiss, and of course Irish. Some have visited my studio and went way with more books, as well as apples.


Some other visitors, many might not enjoy, but I welcome them.
Wasps.

These wasps have build a beautiful nest inside a bird-nesting-box near the tree. I found a cleaned out apple on the ground. They devoured all the flesh, but left the skin and the core. I thought it to be a work of genius!

There is a very short video of the wasps in action.

(Sorry for slightly shaky appearence, it is not your eyes, but my not so steady legs.)

Wasps eating apple from Corina Duyn on Vimeo.

Now that they are ripe I have them up on the wall,
and again I am meeting some lovely people as a result.

Carousel Aware Book Award 2016

Little did I know that it is possible to almost jump out of the window from excitement - wheelchair and all - when reading an email.

The cause for the excitement?

... That my Into the Light book has been SHORTLISTED for the very first Carousel Aware Prize for Independent Authors (The CAP Awards) My book is one of five in the Best Non Fiction category.

The winners of The CAP Awards will be announced on the evening of Tuesday the 25th of October in The Teacher’s Club,  Parnell’s Square, Dublin at 7pm. To express your interest in attending the awards night please register here  "There will be a raffle for Aware on the night, with prizes such as many of the CAP entry books amongst other gems... To get us started, we hear that Dubray Books has a particularly juicy prize up for grabs."

The award is on aid of Aware,  an Irish Charity Educating and empowering people to look after their mental health. Their mission statement is:" Aware undertakes to create a society where people affected by stress, depression, bipolar and mood disorders are understood, free from stigma, and are encourages to accesss appropriate therapies.

I hope you can join us on the night, and while I have you here, I would like to thank all of you who have believed in my Into the Light  project and have supported me throughout the making of it and since its birth exactly a year ago.

Love and light to you all.

Corina

If you like to read/hear thoughts about the book from others, please see

Sister Stanislaus Kennedy at The Sanctuary 

Mary Grehan, Director of Waterford Healing Arts Trust at Lismore Library  

Michael Harding  at Dzogchen Beara 

Book available from website , Dzogchen Beara, Ardmore Gallery and Pottery, and The Sanctuary