Celia Raya grew up in Ann Arbor Michigan. As the daughter of artistic parents, Raya was exposed at an early age to a variety of creative disciplines. Her father, an architect, regularly brought home discarded plans for Raya and her siblings to use with their paints. Raya’s early memories of her art included her yearly school exhibition held in the Rackham Museum. She received such a positive response to her art during those shows, that it was then that she knew she wanted to be an artist.