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| Dion Beasley's Cheeky Dogs are featured on t-shirts. This one lists different Indigenous words for dog. |
Dion
Beasley is an Indigenous artist best known for his drawings of Cheeky Dogs. So
popular are his designs that they have spawned a company, www.cheekydogs.com.au. Dion is
profoundly deaf and has reduced mobility due to muscular dystrophy. However,
through his art, and with the support and collaboration of disability support
educator Joie Boulter, Dion has found an outlet. Their story one inspirational story documented in Outback Spirit by Sue Williams.
Joie
spoke to SAT about Dion’s work.
What is a Cheeky Dog?
A
Cheeky dog in an aboriginal community is one which has a tendency to bite or
attack, while in other situations just means a fun-loving dog.
How did you meet Dion?
When Dion came to live in Tennant Creek, he attended the Tennant Creek Primary school (with his cousins) where I was teaching at the time. Soon after I went on long service Leave and so was able to spend more time with Dion, and this continued when I retired the following year.
Can you tell us how Cheekydogs came
about?
“Cheekydogs”
(the Company) was formed in 2006,several years after Dion came to live in
Tennant Creek with extended family. Dion was (at that stage) a very insecure
little boy with extremely limited communication skills, but expressed daily
experiences through his drawings. He particularly drew dogs which had a special
quality about them. I believe that this special talent of Dion’s could be used
to enable him to provide a vocation for himself, with the potential to provide
a form of financial independence into the future(hopefully).
This
led to Dion’s drawings initially being transferred onto shirts and later onto a
variety of products. At this stage my husband and I decided to form the
Cheekydog Company as the avenue through which Dion’s art work could be used for
his benefit.
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| Dion greets some cheeky dogs. |
What makes Cheeky Dogs great
subjects?
Little
did I realise at the time, how important dogs (and drawing) were to Dion’s wellbeing.
Dion is absolutely fascinated by all the dogs he has encountered in all
the communities he has lived in throughout his life. The dogs Dion draws are
taken from real life and with his amazing memory he can recall all the dogs (and
in which house they lived) he has met. His love for all dogs is evident by his
excitement when travelling around communities. As well as drawing the dogs he
also loves to photograph the dogs and so has many hundreds of photos of dogs of
all sizes, shapes, colours and temperaments.
Last
week he attended the clinic (desexing) in Tennant. He was in seventh heaven,
travelling with the workers, bringing back the dogs and watching the whole
procedure! One of the workers showed Dion the procedure of collating the data
on his I-Pad and Dion very quickly was picking up the idea.
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| There are plenty of Cheeky dogs around... |
How does Dion come up with ideas for
his drawings?
Dion
constantly talks about dogs and is self-motivated to draw subjects of his
choosing. Often late at night Dion becomes absorbed in his drawings (he’s
definitely a night owl) and is happy drawing into the small hours of the
morning. Dion is also extremely knowledgeable about drawing aerial views of
communities in which he has lived, so drawing communities with their many dogs is
an exciting experience for Dion (and one which he regularly partakes in).
How important is Dion’s work to him?
I
think that Dion’s drawing and love of community and associated dogs is essential
to his emotional wellbeing. He becomes totally absorbed in his work and will
not be distracted by any interruption. Dion is a very contented, creative soul
when engaged in drawing, constructing or photographing. What more can I say
about this wonderfully creative artist? He has a great sense of humour and
delights in simple pleasures.
Do you live with any dogs?
We
do not have a Cheeky dog here (a little selfish on my part, and no secure
fence). Dion travels down to his grandad’s house every day, taking a container
of dog food which he happily feeds to the dogs at Mulga Camp .He really
loves the Camp dogs but is not so keen on the well-bred varieties!!
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| Dion leads the pack. |
Do you have any advice for
veterinarians or vets visiting communities for desexing programs?
Sorry,
no advice for those visiting communities but if Dion was able to join in the
activities in the communities his day would be made!
Thank you Joie and thank you Dion for
your inspirational drawings. If you want to own an original Dion Beasley, whether its a t-shirt or artwork, visit here.
