Ashley Dondaldson
Our spotlight today falls upon an artist, musician, world traveler and renaissance woman all rolled into one amazing young lady, Ashley Donaldson.
We met with Ashley at her photography display at Owens Community College that runs thru March 2nd. A native of Findlay and a generation removed from Northern Ireland, Ashley has been drawn to the British Isles since high school.
When she graduated from Findlay High School in 2007 she moved north to Bowling Green State University where she excelled in music, playing the trumpet. She was selected the recipient of the Stewart R Givens fellowship and spent the summer in London shadowing the London Symphony Orchestra.
She was hooked on London and has returned and lived there for a number of years completing her education. She finished her master’s in music education at Roe Hampton University in London in 2015.
She was surprised with a suitor flying over to London from Findlay and proposing to her. She returned to the states and married Chris, soon celebrating two years together. They are the furry parents to a British Shorthair cat named Tasha from England who meows with an English accent.
Not just a musician, Ashley has talents in photography and dance. She learned ballroom and social dance as a young girl and has been teaching it for many years. She sings soprano and plays trumpet at the First Presbyterian Church where she is a section leader.
What she is most excited about is her new ventures into art especially drawing big rig trucks. She has started a Facebook called Flatbed Red. (Yes she has the beautiful red hair of the Irish people) She draws and uses colored pencils and has been commissioned to draw a number of rigs for drivers. Her work can be seen on her site. Ashley would like to have this be a full-time gig in the future.
She works full-time at Findlay Publishing on their Social Findlay site. We have just scratched the surface of the talents and life of this young lady. Look up her site to learn more.