Teaching at KinkFest 2011!

I am pleased to be teaching with Jim Duvall at KinkFest next March 18th through the 20th. We have new classes to offer: "Physics & Body Mechanics for Suspension Bondage" and "Triage for Pick-up Play".


KinkFest is one of my favourite bdsm events.Not only is much of the dungeon equipment Sophie-Proof, but it's close enough to Seattle to be affordable to travel there and far enough away that it feels like a vacation.

Below is info about their Early Bird rates. The FetLife event listing.

Don’t miss KinkFest 2011’s Early Bird special, now until January 15th. Register today at www.KinkFest.org.

PLA & reciprocal members, now is your time to snag a KinkFest 2011 registration for $50 off normal price. Not a member? Join now at www.portlandleather.org.

New this year:
· NEW VENUE! The Oregon Convention Center is Portland's First-Class, state-of-the-art conference space, with convenient light rail access to the airport and to downtown restaurants, shopping, nightclubs, and more.

· NEW HOTEL! Exclusive weekend access to the conference hotel with welcoming, kink-friendly management and staff. Enjoy comfortable rooms, free wi-fi, fitness center, and access to KinkFest activities in the clothing-optional Skyview Lounge and Roof-Top Terrace with panoramic views of downtown Portland and the West Hills!

· NEW DUNGEON! Get full time access to our well-equipped, 18,000+ square foot dungeon during conference hours... then stick around for Kinkfest's infamous Friday and Saturday night play parties! The dungeon will feature fantastic displays, incredible rigging set-ups for those bondage and suspension enthusiasts, one of the biggest collection of dungeon furniture on the West coast, awesome lighting and sound system, live performances and a live DJ at both play parties, gear storage area and more!

· MORE WORKSHOPS! KinkFest has practically doubled the number of top-notch presenters for this year and has a diversified and expanded selection of educational workshops featuring a variety of topics from some of the nation's best presenters on all 3 days.

Renowned presenters from across the nation include:
· Mollena Williams, International Ms Leather 2010
· Laura Antoniou, author of The Marketplace series
· Cleo Dubois of Cleo Dubois Academy of SM Arts
· Fakir Musafar, co-developer of modern body piercing techniques
· Lee Harrington, author and human sexuality educator
· And many more…

Dialog of the Week.

Him: Thanks for suspending me. That was quite a hoot.

Me: That was fun! I think I would prefer to stick with the resistance and wrestling scenes with you. You know, just introducing a little switchy energy rather than being the top. It didn't feel right topping you.

Him: Oh, don't worry. That won't happen very often.

Warm Winter Wishes

What a day! And it's not even halfway done!

This morning, I went downtown and gave out Christmas care packages and food to "those less fortunate" with Santa, Allena, Drew from Ballard Brothers,  and a few others. It was an interesting experience and quite powerful that a little bit of generosity goes a very long way in the world. We'll being doing it next year on Christmas Eve morning.If you want to join us, please let me know.

On the night of the solstice, Jim and I did a photo shoot for his holiday card. This is actually the product of two shoots. The plan was to do the shoot on a roof that had a fantastic view of the Space Needle. At the last minute, permission was withdrawn, due to the number of people electing to watch the lunar eclipse on the roof.

Plan B to the rescue in the form of Photoshop. Jim shot the view of the Needle and the moon and we relocated to another rooftop and shot me spinning fire. He was careful to take the photos of me so that I was in scale with the view he took photos of earlier so that the composition would be as true to life as possible. I am pretty pleased with the result. For as cold as I was, I am amazed that the image isn't blurry from my shivers!

Now, it's off to the thrift store to find a roasting pan so I can finish making apple butter. (Cross your fingers for me.) Then to make elk stroganoff  for xmas dinner with my made family.

Whatever you choose to celebrate, may you and your loved ones enjoy wealth, health and happiness.

Give the gift of Velvet

What would make for a more luxurious and sexy stocking stuffer than an indulgent weekend at the Seattle Erotic Art Festival?

The decadent Velvet Experience includes:

• Exclusive first opportunity to preview and purchase art from the exhibition
• Very limited sneak peek behind the scenes of the Festival on Thursday night
• VIP parking each day
• Express lane at all service areas (bar, Festival Store, and coat check)
• Personalized docent tour
• Unique gift bag, including a gift certificate to the Festival Store
• Two full passes to the entire Festival -- two fabulous nights and three exciting days of art exhibition, performances, and dancing
• Two full passes to the Festival Launch Party in April 2011*
• And more!

Extremely limited availability.
Secure your experience today!  

* The Launch party sold out last year. While we will be in a bigger venue in 2011, a Velvet Experience is a guarantee you will get in.

No, the other foot.

Last night was the one year anniversary of the fetish dress code party, Strict Machine, held at the Mercury. Jim and I were among the first performers when the party got its start. Due to breaks ups, we hadn't performed there in a while. We were honoured to be invited to perform again.



The Mercury has quite the low ceiling; about 9 feet high. There was much back and forth as to whether we should do aerial bondage work there or just stick with suspension bondage. Either would be dynamic, but the aerial bondage is much more fun and interesting. The decision is made to go with the aerial antics with plenty of passionate interactions so as to lengthen the performance. If we do nothing but the aerial work, I am barely good for 5 minutes, as it is a strenuous activity.
 
We get off to a good start, despite Jim having to warn people that they will get kicked if they don't steer clear. That's to be expected when doing any kind of ambient performance, especially being located on the dance floor. Our energy and excitement builds through the interactions and the first gentle throw. In our usual manner of drastically ramping up, the second throw has more oomph and I pop upside down. My left foot smacks into the support beam that holds our hardpoint, which causes me to spin in the opposite direction. I finish the spin out and when he catches me, I whisper that I whacked my foot, that it's bad but pretty sure no broken bones. Continue? Oh, hell, yes! And off we go again.
 
As I start to get tired, I can feel the pain increasing. The worry sets in, and I signal the wrap up. He gets me down and I hobble off to check my foot. I barely get my boot off and immediately regret that I'll have to put it back on. The lateral side and top of my foot were quite puffy already. A hasty exit and soon I am home with an ice pack on my foot and a hot pack on my thigh. (This is a great trick to bring down inflammation very fast.)



I have been icing on and off all day, and therefore doing quite well. This injury doesn't even warrant a picture. Except for the extreme pain when trying to push in the clutch of a standard transmission car, I can get around mostly pain free. (I didn't even try on the motorcycle boot.) I figure my foot is bruised, though hopefully not the bones themselves. Bone bruises take forever to heal. At least it wasn't the right foot, like the last 4 foot/ankle injuries.

Good day talking about art.

Today was the CSPC's vendor fair.  I set up a booth on behalf of the Foundation and sold swag and art from past Seattle Erotic art Festivals.

I ended up talking to a fair number of artists about submitting their work in January. It's amazing how narrow a definition some people have about what is erotic art. One young man was telling me about how his ceramic sculptures were only suggestive if you looked at them from a certain angle. He seemed a bit surprised when I expressed interest, as if there isn't any copulation in the art, it must not be erotic. If a piece of art has anything to do with sensuality, one's own sexuality, society's notions/attitudes around sex and sexuality or any of the emotional or spiritual ramifications of being a sexual being, then it's erotic art.

Any art that is erotically charged is erotic art. And that definition is highly subjective. (Which is the main reason why the Festival jury is different every year.) When a piece of art captures your interest and increases your vitality in any way, not just sexually, it is full of eros. The book The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property (alternately with the subtitle: Creativity an the Artist in the Modern World) explores this idea that erotic energy is a life force energy that can be channeled into artistic endeavours.

If you are someone who creates art that is sexy or is inspired by your or other's sexuality, please consider submitting your art this January to the 2011 Seattle Erotic Art Festival.