The following is a message from Robin Baldwin, who will be one of our featured artists at the Ferriter Art Exhibition during our 2012 Gathering in Dingle, Ireland.
Hello Family! My Ferriter roots begin with my beloved maternal grandmother, Maxine Ferriter. She always proudly told us stories about her travels to Ireland and instilled a love of Irish culture to all of her children and grandchildren. I cannot wait to experience the setting of all of her tales this coming April at the Ferriter Family Gathering!
I am also very excited to have the opportunity to showcase some of my artwork at the reunion art show! Creativity has always been an outlet for me and so I have been painting and drawing my entire life. Though I am an educator and community developer by profession, I have always been an artist in private. Just last year I decided to take my artwork from private to public, as I started my company Creative Equality. Creative Equality was born on the idea that we should ALL nurture and share our creative talents. Doing this leads to increased creative approaches to social problems and also utilizes our artistic voices to impact and influence growing masses of people through our creations. My artwork is strongly influenced by my passion for people, community development and travel. The subjects reflect the people and places that have impacted me during my travels and on an everyday basis.
As the reunion draws closer, I am focusing my paintings more on my heritage and am excited to do a couple of pieces specifically for our upcoming gathering. You can find examples of my work at www.CreativeEquality.com. I cannot wait to meet all of you and be inspired by your stories. We are so blessed to be able to learn our shared history and connect with one another. I am really thankful!
Robin Baldwin
James Thomas Ferriter was born in December, 1843, either in New York or Massachusetts to Irish immigrant parents. Most census data lists his birthplace as Massachusetts. It is quite likely that he was born in West Springfield, MA, as he had a brother, Patrick, who was born there in 1849. His parents, Patrick Ferriter and Catherine Sullivan Ferriter, had married in Ireland on February 14, 1840. They moved to America and travelled where there were railroads to be built. Patrick's family landed in Dummerston, Vermont, in 1850, where many people with Irish surnames and the job title of 'railroad laborer' are listed in the census.... Read More