Raven Thorgeirson (LeBlanc/Pearson)  was born in 1991 and has spent most of her life living on Haida Gwaii. She is of Haida descent from her mother’s side and is of the Naa S'aagaas XaaydaGaay Eagle clan. Raven grew up in Skidegate with the beautiful environment surrounding her home, which fueled her growing imagination. At an early age she began drawing animals inspired by animated cartoons. Her beginnings in Haida Art first took root at the age of 13, when she was asked to participate in a Haida dance blanket project lead by Yolanda Skelton. In 2006 Raven and her family moved to Fort St. John and she enrolled in North Peace Secondary. During her time there she took classes in computer animation, art foundations, painting, and musical theater. She graduated in 2009 and moved back to Haida Gwaii to start an apprenticeship with her uncle and Haida carver, Robin Rorick. He taught her the basic principles of Haida design. After her time with Robin, Raven apprenticed under Ben Davidson, the son of renowned master carver, Robert Davidson.

 

     In 2012 Raven made the choice to pursue post secondary education and enrolled into Emily Carr University of Art + Design. After her time at Emily Carr she transferred to Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art to improve her traditional art form and learn carving. During her summer break from her studies she returns back to Haida Gwaii and works at the Haida Heritage Centre and Haida Gwaii Museum. Over the years she has had the positions of Cultural Interpreter and Collections/Archives Assistant and enjoys educating people about Haida traditions and stories. After completing her post secondary education she returned back to Haida Gwaii and works at the museum and continues to work on her art. Raven also still enjoys drawing cartoons in her free time and hopes to one day merge her love for illustration and her passion for Haida art.