Our Story
Canvas & Clay wasn’t born in a business school. It was born from a fundamental belief – that creative expression is healing, that access shouldn’t depend on your zip code, and that community wellness is an act of justice.
Founder & Lead Facilitator
“I built Canvas & Clay because I know what it’s like to carry more than you should have to – and to have no place to put it down. Art gave me that place.”
Kennesha Forrest grew up in Pittsburg, California, navigating poverty, housing instability, and the weight of circumstances that too many people in underserved communities know firsthand. Through all of it, creativity was a constant – a way to process, to exhale, to find beauty even in hard seasons. That lived experience became the foundation of everything she built.
As a South LA community leader, entrepreneur, and single mother of five sons, Kennesha started Ascended Enterprises LLC in April 2020 as the parent company for a portfolio of businesses grounded in community, wellness, and economic empowerment. Canvas & Clay emerged from that vision in 2022 – a wellness facilitation practice that meets people where they are, removes the barriers of “I’m not an artist,” and creates space for the kind of release that everyday life rarely offers.
Today, Canvas & Clay serves community members, frontline workers, corporate teams, and government agencies across Los Angeles and Contra Costa County. Kennesha is also deeply committed to community service and nonprofit wellness programming serving underserved communities in South LA and Inglewood.
Founder & Principal Officer, Ascended Enterprises LLC
Lead Facilitator, Canvas & Clay Wellness Workshops
Credentials & Certifications
Accredited Certification - Udemy, April 2024. Certificate No. UC-5804d515-329b-42a0-8b4d-4dba156478f0. Legitimizes all art-based emotional wellness facilitation delivered by Canvas & Clay.
California licensed real estate professional - bringing financial literacy and economic empowerment perspective to wellness programming for underserved communities.
California licensed MLO - providing financial wellness content, homeownership education, and economic empowerment programming for Canvas & Clay and partner organizations.
California licensed cosmetologist - a background that deepens understanding of community care, personal wellness, and the service industry experience that many participants carry.
Active California Notary Public commission with mobile notary services. Provides an additional revenue stream and direct community service through document authentication.
Currently pursuing California Certified Wellness Coach certification through West Los Angeles College, alongside an Associate's degree in Psychology - deepening the clinical foundation of facilitation practice.
Community Business Enterprise and Local Small Business Enterprise, certified through the LA County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA). Provides 15% bid price preference on qualifying LA County solicitations.
Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and Small Business Enterprise, certified through LA Metro. Provides diversity supplier status for Metro procurement and public transit-related contracting opportunities.
Our Values
01
Wellness programming that excludes communities based on income, art experience, or zip code is not wellness programming – it’s decoration. Canvas & Clay is built to be accessible first, beautiful second.
02
Kennesha did not build this organization to serve communities she has studied. She built it from inside the communities she knows. That distinction matters – and it shows in every room we enter.
03
There are things talk therapy can’t reach. The nervous system speaks in sensations before it speaks in words. Art creates a doorway to the places that need the most healing.
04
Canvas & Clay is built on the belief that a sustainable, purpose-driven business can generate real income while creating genuine community impact. Purpose and profit are not opposites – they reinforce each other.
Company Information
| Legal Entity | Ascended Enterprises LLC |
| DBA | Canvas & Clay Wellness Workshops (est. 2022) |
| Established | April 2020 - 6+ Years in Operation |
| State | California LLC |
| CAGE Code | 8KHX9 |
| UEI | FLL2NTARKCH7 |
| Primary NAICS | 624190 - Other Individual & Family Services |
| Certifications | CBE · LSBE (LA County) · DBE · SBE (LA Metro) |
| SAM.gov | Registered & Active |
| Service Area | Los Angeles & Contra Costa Counties, CA |
| Phone | (424) 234-9780 · (424) 207-8299 |
| info@mycanvasandclay.com |