Debbie Dillon is an artist from Inuuvik, Inuvialuit Settlement Region, NT, who specializes in beadwork. Her beaded earrings are imbued with traditional designs inspired by her Inuvialuit, Gwich’in, Métis and Cree heritages. Dillon’s beadwork is vibrant—utilizing small, uniform beads in bright and contrasting colours to depict traditional designs. Dillon currently lives and works in Fort Smith, NT.
Dillon’s interest in beading started in 2014 when she attended a powwow in Alberta and was inspired by the local artisan beadwork she saw. Their earrings inspired her to make her own and Dillon then honed her skills through local workshops and video tutorials. During the learning process she realized she could create her own designs and use the medium to uniquely represent her diverse cultures. “I work full time so I don’t really have time to bead,” Dillon says. “But every spare second of my life, pretty much, has been spent beading anyway.” [1] She cites fellow beadwork artists Erica Joan Donovan, Margaret Nazon and Elsie Canadien as major artistic inspirations, as well as textile and mixed-media artists Vashti Etzel, Adele Arseneau as well as her mother, Greta Villebrun.
Delica beads are Dillon’s medium of choice. “They’re more uniform in shape and small, so you can create designs with a lot of detail,” she says. Dillon uses the brick stitch weaving pattern and often incorporates ulus into her work as well as the delta braid, which is a distinctive form of appliqué composed of layered ribbons of geometric patterns that originated around the Mackenzie Delta. Dillon also notes her enjoyment of the beading process. “It's a good way to relax and unwind at the end of a workday,” she says. “I just find it very therapeutic.”
Dillon’s art practice is constantly evolving as she continues learning about the traditional arts of her mixed heritages, including the making of Métis dog blankets as well as Inuvialuit mukluks and mitts. Her work has been exhibited at the Seymour Art Gallery in North Vancouver, BC; the Adäka Cultural Festival in Whitehorse, YT; CRAFTED: Show + Sale at the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq in Manitoba; and Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week. Dillon continues to learn and develop her art practice and one day hopes to take it to the next level. “I would like to create art full time,” she says. “Someday that’s what I want to do—just make art full time.”