With every canvas, artist Dawn South educates about Autism.
By Katharine Armbrester
Dozens of talented artists participated in the 62nd annual Bluff Park Art Show last year, which takes place in Hoover on the first Saturday of October. Several of the
entrants hailed from Alabaster, but Dawn South was the only one who mentioned “Autism Advocate” on her social media platforms prior to the show. Her colorful, often glittery canvases were certainly a reason visitors stopped by her white tent, but some of them had questions, and South was the perfect person to ask.
With her inventiveness and drive, the role of advocate came naturally to South when her son Taylor was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in 1999. Her devotion ensured a safe and nurturing environment for her son at home, but, unfortunately, the outside world would be difficult to understand and thrive in as he grew.
While accurate medical information about autism is more widely available than ever, misinformation and harmful stereotypes still linger. “When Taylor was diagnosed, all people knew about autism was Rain Man,” South says, referring to the 1988 film. “That was it, there was no internet to look up anything else,” she recalls. “I went to Books-a-Million by myself to look for books.”
From the very beginning of South’s journey with Taylor, she also sought to share everything she learned by writing a blog and speaking at the University of Montevallo’s speech center. She was an alum of the university with a BFA with a degree in Graphic Design. “It never occurred to me that I could make a living doing art, not in 1993,” she says. After Taylor’s birth she had two more sons, and while her art was often placed on hold, she still found ways to be creative while finding ways to teach others about autism.
South once co-owned CrossFit Alabaster, and there began the fundraiser WODism for Autism in 2012, a fitness competition that raised awareness about autism along with funds for KultureCity in Birmingham. South was an early supporter of the nonprofit organization, which offers sensory inclusive training to learn how to assist people with special needs.
Over a period of seven years, her fundraisers raised thousands of dollars, and when she had the time to paint and sell her artwork, she educated with every purchase. “I told my customers that 15 percent was going to go the Autism Society of Alabama,” South says, “and I put little tags on all my products that explained about Taylor, who he was, and what autism was.”
South continues, “I don’t make anything he can’t touch,” and she encourages the curious to touch her canvases. She paints all her abstracts in acrylic, and she generally considers them to be landscapes, as she is often inspired by satellite images of the earth. In all her paintings she loves to recreate the diverse textures of terrain and water and enjoys capturing reflections. “They’re beautiful distortions of reality,” she explains.
Today, when she is not a substitute art teacher for Creek View and Meadow View Elementary Schools, South is working hard on commissioned artwork. “Just keep painting,” is her simple advice for aspiring artists. “And I say that because I never considered myself naturally talented, and I think too many people give up before they realize there’s a gift there.”
Her airy studio takes up a corner room of her home, and opens to a patio strung with clear vinyl curtains and delicate lights, where she usually paints in oils. A rolling Husky tool chest stores dozens of tubes of paint in every imaginable shade, and her studio is as colorful, eclectic, and enticing as an Anthropologie store. She does not limit herself to working in her studio but frequently carries a project from room to room, painting wherever inspiration strikes her. Parker, a silky cocker spaniel and golden retriever mix, clearly takes his guardianship of South and Taylor very seriously, and he growls intermittently as he winds around easels.
When a friend asked South to paint the Triple Crown-winning horse Justify, she created a stunning oil portrait, despite having never seriously attempted to depict a horse before. “I told her, I don’t know what I’m doing, you might get a moose,” she laughs. “But why does something have to be picture-perfect? Why? It’s paint.”
Where other artists may see daunting challenges, South sees opportunity. She thrives on unexpected requests for paintings—cars, wedding portraits, school bands—and revels in the challenge of teaching herself to capture a subject she’s never done before.
Following her son’s diagnosis, South learned she had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and while their perception of the world is different from that of neurotypical people it is no less significant, and they—and many other neurodiverse individuals—enrich the lives of those around them because of that difference.
Once nonverbal, Taylor now drives himself every day to a job he enjoys in Helena, draws, and loves making jokes. He recently collaborated with his mother on a large acrylic canvas they embellished with clothing starch, tissue paper, and crepe myrtle berries. They titled the finished painting Hot Mess. “Because we’re both a hot mess,” South laughs, “but it turned out gorgeous.”
She is thankful for the friends and neighbors in Alabaster who have supported and nurtured Taylor through the years, beginning with his teachers at Creek View Elementary School. “This community knows and loves him,” South says, and he is the inspiration behind her goal to host low-key social gatherings that would give both neurodiverse and neurotypical adults an opportunity to connect and have fun.
When someone on the autism spectrum or with other special needs enters adulthood, “falling off the cliff” is the phrase
used to describe the sharp decline in specialized support offered to them and their families. This frequently leads to greater difficulty in attaining jobs, higher education, or forging friendships.
“It’s hard enough to meet people who ‘get you’ even when you have no issues,” South says. “I just want them to have a safe
place to go and have a pottery class, or game and movie nights.” She is eagerly anticipating the completion of Alabaster’s new recreation center and library near the intersection of Alabama 119 and Thompson Road as a possible venue. Anyone interested in her plans for future classes and social mixers can find her on Instagram at DawnSouthArt.
South fervently hopes to bring more opportunities for artistic expression to Alabaster. “There’s so many creative people here,” she says. Wherever she goes, South leaves color in her wake, transforming canvases with beauty while also touching lives. Everyone could use a little reassurance, acceptance, and glitter in their life, and she has plenty to give.