About Dayna Reann
Dayna Shoulders (b. 2001, Newark, United States) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Houston, Texas, whose practice encompasses painting, design, and textile. Working with acrylic paint, water-soluble crayon, glitter, and fabric, she is best known for her large-scale, stylized paintings that explore identity, self-perception, and personal transformation. Her practice examines the relationship between individual experience and the ongoing process of becoming, positioning artistic expression as a means of investigating identity and the pursuit of an intentional life.
Shoulders’ work centers on the process of becoming the woman one is called to be, exploring the introspection, personal development, and cultivation of wisdom that accompany this journey. Through stylized representations and intentional material exploration, she considers how women understand themselves, navigate personal change, and develop a more deliberate relationship with their lives. Her ongoing series Worthy investigates the concept of self-worth, examining how it is defined, cultivated, and sustained. Extending beyond painting, her multidisciplinary practice incorporates the design of objects and tools that enable women to curate their environments in ways that support their personal journeys. Through this integration of visual storytelling and functional design, Shoulders explores how art and the spaces people inhabit can contribute to intentional living and personal becoming.
Dayna Shoulders’ selected exhibitions include Becoming, a solo exhibition in Houston, Texas (2026); Make Yourself At Home, a group exhibition at the Ohio University Art Gallery in Athens, Ohio (2022); and the Central Ohio Scholastic Art and Writing Awards exhibition at the CCAD Acock Gallery in Columbus, Ohio (2019). Her work and artistic practice have been featured in Yen Studios’ Sobremesa (2025), in the feature “Spirit Artist,” and in Black Woman in Bloom, published by Carefree Media in 2026. In 2022, Shoulders also served as curator of the Multicultural Student Art Exhibition in Athens, Ohio.