Tattoo the painted horse

The Painted Horse

Marilyn Dyer

imagemaker

Rie Charles

wordsmith

The Painted Horse Marilyn Dyer imagemaker

Rie Charles wordsmith

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O

nce upon an exciting morning in July, I moved into Brookswood Park. People gathered with loud voices and flashy smiles.

“Look this way,” ordered photographers.

“Tell us about the horse,” demanded reporters.

But ...

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the night was long and I was lonely.

4

5

The next day was not so exciting.

The reporters and photographers had disappeared.

In time, one little boy tip-toed up and traced his fingers over my swirls. His cheery giggle gladdened me into a laugh.

Soon his big sister dragged him off.

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Then one small girl flitted by and flicked the tips of my ears. Her long swinging ponytail tingled my sides into a smile.

Her father hurried her away.

“Thank you, little boy with the cheery giggle that gladdens me into a laugh,” I whispered.

“Thank you, little girl with the long swinging ponytail that tingles my sides into a smile.”

I was still a little lonely.

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8

Yet as more and more children tossed balls in the park, splashed in the water and swung on the swings,

my loneliness melted in the warmth of their happiness.

Some even whispered secrets in my ears. And one little person ran warm, sticky fingers under and over my muzzle. That tickled.

Each day as they left they called out, “Bye Tattoo. See you tomorrow.”

Each day I whispered back, “Bye, see you tomorrow.”

But ...

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10

the nights were still long and lonely.

The swings moved only when the wind tossed them about.

Except for the dash of a squirrel and an occasional car rattling by, all was quiet.

One evening, when shadows were deep from distant street lamps, some people came to the park. I thought, Hey. How wonderful.

Tonight won’t be so long and lonely.

Like the children, the people laughed, but there was hurt in the laughter, sadness and anger too.

And oh, what did they carry in their hands?

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All of a sudden, something

D E R ROA and TORE at me.

’t n ld u o c I

y a w a n ru

or call for help.

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Something

D E H S A SM smashed

smashed

and

GASHED at my sides.

Something

CHOPPED

. l i a t d n gs a e l y m off

I was more than lonely now.

I was hurt ...

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and I was sad.

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All th roug h th e ni

gh t I la yo Wh n the cool grass thinking. y di d the ng? o y do th r w at? What did I do

Why don’t they like me?

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The next morning I heard cries of fluster and muddlement.

I was scared.

Then one voice after the other cried out,

“Oh Daddy, poor Tattoo!”

“He’s hurt, Grandma.”

“Please, can we fix him?”

Big hands placed me in a van.

Where I went I do not know, except the place was dark and I lay there for a very long and very

lonely time.

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No one came to visit.

Did

nobody want me?

Maybe they

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only liked me when I was sparkly and new.

But, one day...

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I heard mysterious whispers.

The door cracked open.

I wanted to blink, the light was so

Then I saw them.

There was the girl with the long swinging ponytail.

There was the boy with the cheery giggle.

“We looked for you all over,”

she said.“I knew we could find you,” he said.

“I missed you,” I whispered.

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bright.

Not long after, many

little hands and big arms

carried me to a

huge room in an even huger building.

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WH 22

S M A

Th

s e h s i u q s ere

w e er

U A Q S HES S d n

a

s, k on b d n a s

wham

wea vin g an d winding

and lo

o g, pin

g n i sh a m h c u m , ch u m and n. i a ag r e th e g to k c a b l l a as until I w 23

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Then an artist lady itchy-papered my bumps and scratches until they were smooth.

With a brush, she dipped and dabbed me with

delicious colours.

Every so often she stood back and grinned.

Each time her grin grew wider.

I grinned too.

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I am back in Brookswood Park now.

My legs are a little crooked, my neck is knobby and I have lumps where there once were none.

come to hug and kiss and squeeze and talk to me.

Every day children

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The girl with the long swinging ponytail flicks the tips of my ears and says, “Hi Tattoo.”

The boy with the cheery giggle traces his fingers over my swirls and says,

“Hi Tattoo.”

Even the artist lady grins when she sees me and says,

“Hi Tattoo.”

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I smile and laugh and grin and love them back.

And I am no longer sad or lonely, even at night, because

I know they care.

I am Tattoo.

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To all who are voiceless and vulnerable

We dedicate this book to

Dale Ball

April 27, 1948 – March 10, 2015

who was there for all of us right from the beginning.

The True Story

A

s a community project, the Langley Arts council placed fibreglass horses in various areas around the city of Langley BC. The Brookswood Merchants’ Association donated one particular statue called TATTOO. Designed and painted

by Marilyn Dyer, it was installed in Brookswood Park to delight the children.

Thirteen nights later, however, Tattoo was severely vandalized.

Seeing this as a form of bullying and abuse, the community decided to confront the issue. Tattoo was repaired, repainted and reinstalled in the park, a testament to the magic and strength of community. The story, however, did not end there. Tattoo was reinstalled on Friday in preparation for a Saturday celebration, complete with garlands and balloons. By morning someone had broken one leg and cut off Tattoo’s hooves. Why? This true story inspired Marilyn Dyer and Rie Charles to create this book for children.

The hope is that the reader will empathize with Tattoo, a symbol for the voiceless and vulnerable, and learn the importance of respect, cooperation and kindness.

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Acknowledgements

E

very book comes to fruition because of a team of creative, inspired people.

TATTOO The Painted Horse is based on a true story which impacted many people in the Brookswood community. Rie and Marilyn would like to thank and acknowledge those who so ably walked with us along this creative path.

Special thanks to all contributing Brookswood merchants, especially Ella Little (Ella’s); Dale and Mary Ball (Brookswood Homes); Mary McCarthy and Hollis Morgan (Brennan’s); Lorna Williamson (Coast Capital Savings) and Westland Insurance.

Without their endless encouragement and timely financial support, Tattoo’s story would not have been told. Thanks also for the articles written by Brenda Anderson for the Langley Times, Now, and the Peace Arch News which enabled us to get this story to the public.

Warm thanks to the educators of young children who gathered to reflect on the relationship between the text and the images: Ruth Kewin, Dorthe Davison, Helen Smith, and librarian Wendy Caywood.

Thanks also to Rick Gray who photographed the book’s illustrations and for his positive visual feedback. Both he and artist Rebecca Routley Graham provided valuable support during the creative process.

We were fortunate to have as part of the team Ernst Vegt who drum-scanned the illustrations and Li Eng Lodge who worked her design magic to bring the book into its present form.

And last, but not least, a very special thanks to our families who listened patiently and expressed their literary and visual discernment during these many months.

Kudos to Sheila Dyer, Patti White, Stephen and Cynthia Dyer and to Marilyn’s husband, Andy Seidel.

With gratitude, Marilyn Dyer and Rie Charles

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Copyright Š 2015 Published by Brookswood Publishing All rights reserved. This publication must not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Illustrations by Marilyn Dyer Production by Lisa Eng-Lodge Colour and Prepress by Ernst Vegt Printed in Canada by Friesens Corporation on FSC-Certified Paper using vegetable based inks Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Charles, Rie, 1946-, author Tattoo : the painted horse / written by Rie Charles ; illustrated

by Marilyn Dyer.

ISBN 978-0-9876780-5-8 (bound) 1. Equestrian statues--British Columbia--Langley--Juvenile literature. 2. Public sculpture--British Columbia--Langley--Juvenile literature. 3. Sculpture--Mutilation, defacement, etc.--British Columbia-Langley--Juvenile literature. 4. Bullying--Juvenile literature.

I. Dyer, Marilyn Rose, 1933-, illustrator II. Title.

NB1313.C32L35 2014

j704.9’43296655

C2014-901291-8

RIE CHARLES is a former social worker with two middle-grade books to her credit: A Hole in My Heart and No More Dragons. www.riecharles.com MARILYN DYER, MA. BFA. EDUC. (Dipl). is a professional Artist; internationally recognized Art Educator; retired University Instructor; Consultant and Speaker.