Biography
Dina was born in Bay Shore, N.Y. and received her B.FA. in Graphic Design from The Cooper Union, and her M.F.A. in Graphic Design from Yale University. While at Yale, she served as a teaching assistant to Professor John Gambell, as well as a senior thesis advisor.
In the early part of Dina's graphic design career, she was employed by small- to medium-sized design studios in New York City, Boston, and Washington D.C. While working in Boston, Dina taught typography at The Art Institute of Boston (now Lesley University).
Dina moved to Cape Cod in 2004, where she began consulting with for-profit and nonprofit clients to create graphic identities, branding and marketing materials across a wide range of business sectors. She taught graphic design at St. John Paul High School and at Geek Girl Camp, and volunteered in the public school system, facilitating “Arts Alive” projects to children in grades K-3. It was during this time that she began doing plein air paintings and nature photography in her limited spare time while also raising two young children.
In 2015, Dina closed her design consultancy to engage in a full-time role at a Plymouth-based animal health company. She was embedded on their e-commerce team until Fall 2024, initially as a User Experience Designer and Researcher, and then later as a Sr. Product Manager, working with internal stakeholders and engineers to manage the digital product road map and support delivery of new website features and enhancements.
Dina is currently advancing her creative practice, focusing on plein air watercolor painting, collage, nature journaling, photography, and autobiographical writing.
Statement
My work is rooted in my childhood experiences growing up on the shores of Great South Bay, Long Island. We lived in a small, creative community of scientists, artists, writers, teachers, musicians and performers. Nearly everyone, it seemed, was multi-talented...it wasn't unsual to see a particle physicist or schoolteacher come home to hear their children practicing their instruments, only to all come together as a family after dinner to sing showtunes or head down the street to support a neighbor's gallery opening, play or concert performance. Summers were spent on the water, sailing, exploring or fishing for our dinners.
As someone who is drawn to many different interests, and who moved several times due to school, career and personal life changes, my work is inspired by exploring the moments that I'm experiencing, be it outside during a walk, birding exploration, or retreat, or indoors as I write or create collages. As I devote more time to my practice and also reconsider my earlier career in design, I am learning how to evolve and further develop my individual voice, in an effort to discover meaningful ways to express myself while collaborating with others who also call this beautiful, multi-talented community home.
Education
Artist Training
Memberships
@2025 Dina Radeka Lyons Howell, Artist