Kim Batchelor

Writer of magical realism and other imaginative fiction

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Feb 26 2017

Light, Desert, Sky

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Last summer on the way to Santa Fe, New Mexico, I avoided the fastest most direct route from I40, opting instead for the ‘scenic route’ just east of the city. I’d taken that same route before, and only agreed to my spouse’s suggestion to take that road knowing that sundown was still an hour or so away.

What I hadn’t counted on was the mute light in the waning hours of the day, making the hairpin turns more treacherous and the shadows a substantial impediment to knowing if someone had drifted over to my side of the narrow two-lane road. In between those white knuckle moments, were periods of stunning beauty. I had never before seen the light play off the red soil like that afternoon. I couldn’t recall among my many trips to New Mexico the strands of muted sunlight bring out the details of the terrain so well as it did on that stretch at that time of day.

Later that weekend, on Museum Hill just outside Santa Fe, an afternoon cluster of storm clouds became more dramatic through the dark lenses of my sunglasses. The mountains in the distance stood out more prominently, as did the vortex center of those clouds that at that moment discreetly held the rain and the raw materials to fuel the lightning and thunder that flashed and boomed shortly after.

I’m not a trained photographer, so I didn’t get the photos that would do justice to either of these phenomena. All I can do is share painter Georgia O’Keefe’s vision of what she saw of the desert from her home in Abiquiú, New Mexico.

These observations made me think of writing in terms of illumination and darkness. Consider one example: a girl and her brother and their friend discovering the world. Illumination comes from the father of the boy and girl as he explains the implications of race in their community. Later, darkness threatens the girl and her brother, and in the shadows a mystical character reveals himself in order to save them both.  The book, of course, is To Kill a Mockingbird, and the characters are Scout and Jem Finch and their friend Dill. The mystical figure is one of my favorites from literature, Boo Radley. What reader of the book can forget Boo in the shadows, watching over a bed-ridden Jem?

We writers are weavers of light and darkness, daybreak and sundown. We hide the danger in spots of low-light along treacherous roads and call up turbulence just when everything seems calm in those bright blue skies. The safest story would have been for me to drive along the well-traveled freeway with nothing to hide. The struggle between darkness and light, shadow and filtered strands of sun make for a much more interesting ride.

In the end, I conquered my fear like any protagonist I would hope is worth reading about.

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Written by Kim · Categorized: Inspiration, Storytelling, Writing · Tagged: darkness, desert, light, Santa Fe, storm

Dec 08 2016

In Praise of Small Things

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img_2095Every Christmas I reminisce about Olla Podrida (“broken pot” in Spanish), a small complex of craft and clothing stores in Dallas. Before it closed in 1996, a visit to the amply decorated wooden structure was something I did every holiday season. A store that sold miniatures for collectors and doll houses was one of the most popular spots in the complex. Visitors marveled at tiny furniture and common objects—sofas, rugs, appliances, plates and lamps, pitchers, sewing machines. I’m not a collector and haven’t owned a doll house since I was in elementary school—a cheap one made of metal with sharp edges that sometimes nicked my fingers. Nevertheless, any representation of the ordinary as something small has always fascinated me.

If you read my short stories for children, you know that I have an infatuation with small creatures. From tiny monsters to miniature ghosts, I’ve occasionally brought them into my stories. I like playing with the idea of fearful things that may not be dangerous because of their size. Or at least they’re probably not something to be afraid of.

These days, one of my favorite places to go is the International Museum of Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The museum has expanded from its original mission as a showcase for the collection of Florence Dibell Bartlett who gifted more than 2,500 artworks from 34 countries and the building to establish the museum for the State of New Mexico. On a recent visit, I walked through one exhibit featuring the sacred and another displaying the beautiful clothing and other objects associated with flamenco. My favorite part is still the original collection in the huge main room housing folklore from around the world. The items are organized in themes such as food and heaven and hell, and some are found in small but elaborate displays recreating the markets you might find in different countries. Every visit to the museum, I find something new to study with each exhibit containing a small part of a miniature world.

Maybe it’s because I’m a height-challenged 5’1” that I’m drawn to these worlds. Or maybe it’s that many of us believe there’s something just beyond what the eye can see.

What small things fascinate you?

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Written by Kim · Categorized: Magical realism, Small Objects · Tagged: Doll houses, International Museum of Folk Art, Miniatures, Santa Fe

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