Kelly Bledsoe

Kelly Bledsoe has always loved making art, but his career interest turned to music as a junior high student when his school offered band but not art classes. He subsequently earned Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the University of Tennessee. He served as an Air Force musician for more than 25 years, first as a French hornist and bagpiper and then as the commander and conductor of four Air Force bands. He finished his Air Force career as an Assistant Professor of Aerospace Studies at Miami University in Oxford.

After his retirement, Kelly began to study art at Sinclair and then transferred to Wright State, working toward a BFA. His concentration is painting because he enjoys the tactile sensation and immediacy of working directly on a surface to produce a work of art.

Kelly has been a member of the Huber Heights Board of Education since 2010, including terms as President, in addition to other church and community service involvement. He and his wife Kathleen have four adult children, including a Wright State graduate, and eight grandchildren. Kelly believes he has advanced greatly as an artist through study at Wright State and wants to encourage others to pursue learning and to develop their talents, regardless of their age. Congratulations, Kelly.