Welcome to Ra’s Spiral Path

The Website of Sarah J Batchelder

Writer < Weaver > Storyteller

Woven raven over a mountainside
A small portion from “Ancestors Calling” (2025)

Writer, Weaver, and Storyteller

Weaving words and wisdom

Intuitive Tapestry Weaver

I can keep big pictures and stories in mind, while refining details.

Lifelong Learner

As a mother of a tween, educational specialist, and former children’s librarian, I strive to make learning fun.

Copy Editor and Writer

Words matter. And how they are presented matters as well.

Solution Oriented DIY’er

I practice by doing and experimenting and accept failure as a part of the learning process.

Maker of Quirky Items

I find joy in the strange and weird. Do you too? I now have a POD store.

Brewer, Gardener, Hiker

I reclaim ancient knowledge, spaces, and ways to connect with previously hidden ancestral paths.

Writer

I have written in many types of formats – academic, informational, and fictional. I once wrote a rhyming play about the summer reading program where I worked and performed it with a coworker and puppets to an elementary school. The kids loved it.

My portfolio can be found here.

Weaver

I primarily weave tapestries and baskets made from discarded wires and often use repurposed items and upcycled textiles in my work. I am also learning how to use other types of looms – rigid heddle, inkle, and a Swedish counterbalance floor loom.

Moon Views

  • Woven in 2023 in Jamesport, NY
  • My first completed circular weaving
  • Selected for a group exhibition in 2025

Ancestors Calling

  • An experimental pulled warp tapestry
  • My weaving almost always include repurposed materials.
  • I honor my planet and her life forms in the materials I choose to work with.
A pulled warp tapestry of a Sonoran mountain kingsnake woven by Sarah Batchelder

Sylvia Snake

  • A pulled warp tapestry woven in three parts – head, middle, and tail.
  • Sylvia is a Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake.
  • Her retractable tongue is made from cable wire.

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  • Coyote Time

    Coyote Time

    by

    in

    My brain has been restless. I’ve been up. I’ve been down. I thought my brother had Covid. I found out he doesn’t. I was looking forward to Halloween. Then my son got sick. His fever was gone yesterday and his appetite seems normal today and we’re still going to the doctor later today.

  • Brief History Lessons

    In the car Trying to explain to my son How this country was founded. Christopher Columbus, Disease, slavery Puritans – the religious nuts Too crazy to stay in England. Blankets infected with smallpox Given as gifts of death. And guns, guns, guns. I hate driving.

  • Untitled

    Untitled

    The myth, or sacred truth, of AmericaIs that it is the home of the freeAnd the land of the brave.The reality is that it is a capitalist countryAnd $ is king, the monarch, or emperor,Influenced by fear in this land of the brave. We all live lies every dayBecause Capitalism does not sit well with…

  • Where is it?

    Trying to find a path in the dark Stumbling and bumbling And oh so frustrated I have forgotten how to let My feet find the way

  • Update on the Update

    So the fun blog post I just tried to post earlier had problems. Yay for technical errors! It looked like everything was fine in the preview. And the video I loaded was less than 1 minute long. So what went wrong? I’ll try again later when I’m feeling better.

  • Snake Update and Silliness

    I started a new weaving project. It’s another tapestry. When I began, I thought I was going to working on a sun, but it quickly morphed into something else.

  • My Dad’s Birthday

    My Dad’s Birthday

    by

    in

    Today would have been my father’s 88th birthday, if he hadn’t died last March. I’m making a chocolate cake in his honor. Actually, my son and I are doing it together. And while my dad was a fan of all desserts, I think I remember my mom making his mom’s Devil’s Food Cake for his…

  • Finally off the Loom

    And on the wall

  • A Spider in the Room

    by

    in

    Last night after I asked my son to get into his pajamas, he called out to let me know that there was a spider in his room. I was in the middle of washing a dish, so I finished up before going to investigate.

  • Ghostly

    Am I here?Am I there?Am I anywhere?Liminality is all I know these days.In between everywhere I stand.I don’t feel solid in any setting.Work. Home. Car.Librarian. Proctor. Tech intern. Chauffeur.The only solidity is rare human contact.Hugs from my son.

A portion of "a map of dragons" by fiber artist, Sarah Batchelder