Karena Messengill

Karena Massengill was born and raised in a small town called Ukiah in Northern California. As a child she attended art class in the summer at the Mendocino Art Center while her mother took classes.
She has a fulltime art practice in San Pedro with a 2500 sq foot studio and art gallery display area. Her education includes an MFA in sculpture from CSU Fullerton; a BFA in sculpture, metalsmithing and jewelry from Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA; and a B.Ed. in Visual and Industrial Arts from the University of Toronto, Canada. She lived in Canada for 11 years working as a professional artist on large-scale public art projects after being paid by the Canadian government to be trained as a welder fitter. She received numerous grants to exhibit her work while creating public art projects for schools and other public institutions. Upon returning to California, she started an art program for the new California Academy of Math and Science on the campus of Cal. State Dominguez Hills, and again for Cabrillo High School, while working for the School for Adults in Long Beach. She also worked as an adjunct professor for Harbor College. She is the winner of a statewide competition for the public art project, Rosie Dog Beach in Long Beach, and was also selected to create a public artwork for the Gateway to Downey.