Review of Living in Leather XV
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The fifteenth annual Living in Leather conference was held in Seattle over the Fourth of July weekend in 2000. This review covers all four days of the conference.
LIL is already in its second day and the well oiled machinery is moving smoothly. The skill sets of the organizers clearly includes running events well! So far it's been a very pleasant experience with no glitches.
The hotel:
As advertised, the Doubletree's recent renovations give it a swank and comfortable look. My day job requires me to travel extensively so I'm something of a connoisseur of hotel rooms. This one has lots of space, the amenities I require (a hairdryer and a phone connection for my modem), and room service. It's close to the airport, not a consideration for me but very helpful for out-of-towners. And we're paying a very, very nice price for this class of room.
First thing that went right today: the hotel had a room available for check-in at 9 a.m. The lobby was one of those interesting when-worlds-collide scenes: people in business suits barking into telephones, polyester tourists urgently entreating concierge to arrange their hair appointment, and black-clad couples sporting leather belts with silver studs. That last would be our attendees. I saw a Dom and a sub window-shopping at the gift shop. She was wearing the Het Male Magnet outfit: leather skirt, black garters, tight red shirt. He put her in front of him and lightly stroked her arm. My "NO PUBLIC PLAY!" alarm went off, but then I thought, I can decode that gesture because I know what it means, but it's perfectly harmless, and I'd do it myself on the street. Otherwise, everyone I saw sporting a registration badge was behaving just like any other guest. This is an important issue at this event because dungeons are being allowed on site for the first time at a LIL, and the organizers really want to stay on friendly terms with this hotel.
Registration:
My party had several special arrangements to make, the kind of thing that can really tie you up at registration if the event isn't well organized. This one is. My co-presenter Ted and I needed to upgrade our pre-reserved registrations and our partner Alex needed day and dungeon passes. We were directed quickly and efficiently to the appropriate registration areas. Everyone behind the table knew their job and fulfilled it immediately. This is a big deal at events and a real hallmark of how well it's organized. Spencer Bergstedt, National Leather Association International president, made a charming scramble to find the name badge he made me last night, and, as luck would have it, mine was the only one he couldn't locate. Little things like that happen at huge events when there are a lot of volunteers. What's important is how well the staff recovers. I had a new name badge in my hand a minute later, printed out on the spot. We were all in and out of the processing area in fifteen minutes, in time to catch the first batch of workshops.
My registration packet included a full size schedule and a handy pocket sized "passport" with an at-a-glance schedule, which I can just stick in my pocket for quick reference. I also got a couple of packets of condoms and lube and a red cross safety card. Additionally the NLA-I included a little wooden ruler as a giveaway. All the Doms I saw in the workshop rooms (private area) were whacking their subs, or all the subs in the vicinity, or me, with the thing. Insta-toy!
Workshops:
The marvelous LIL staff had a volunteer posted at the beginning of the hall to direct lost people to the appropriate room. Note: with nine workshops occurring simultaneously, and three workshops sessions in three days, it's going to be hard to choose what to see! It's great to have so much diversity to choose from--there's something for literally anyone's interests. As a presenter I also appreciate that so many people have opportunities to make contributions.
While I was looking for a workshop I stuck my head briefly in each of the rooms. Some topics and presenters, predictably, attracted a full room, while others had just a few people clustered around the presenter. Since I can't possibly report fairly on that presentations, I'm choosing workshops to attend based on my personal tastes.
Cecelia Tan: Long Term SM Relationships
I've been a fan of Tan's since I read her story "Telepaths Don't Need Safewords". Tan's publishing house Circlet Press publishes erotic science fiction anthologies which Tan edits. For those of you who have been following her career, she and her slave Corwin have been together for a decade now, which certainly qualifies her to talk on the subject of long term relationships!
Tan has presented this worskhop before, and her experience and professionalism paid off in polish. When I walked in she was whiteboarding a list of Top and bottom roles. She talked about what happens when the SM relationship turns into a full time relationship, how those roles interact with other roles like roomate, partner, spouse, and outlined some of the issues involved. Her presentation included a list of things Bad Assumptions culled from her experience and feedback from people who have taken the workshop, like: "All difficulties of day to day interaction can be solved through S/M".
Halfway through the hour and a half time slot, she turned the lecture into a facilitated discussion, tapping the experience of the audience and allowing them to address each other's questions. This was a great way to get feedback from others who have been in long term relationship and make sure everyone's questions got answered.
She concluded with a list of general thoughts that are common sense guidelines for any relationships, BDSM or other kinds. She said, "The goal is to have a happy relationship, not just a long one." She gave us a nifty handout that summarized the topics she covered.
Food:
Some registration packages include meals. Lunch was served in the ballroom which will turn into a dungeon later tonight--I walked around the room gaping at the equipment and giggling. The food was pretty good--better than the run of the mill hotel fare. We had chef's salad, navy bean soup, carrot cake, and iced tea.
Interview with a volunteer:
During lunch I snagged jennsunshine, who agreed to talk to me for a few minutes about her experience as a volunteer. LIL volunteers work eight hours on the site, and receive a volunteer discount on registration.
jenn said that when she signed up she had a chance to indicate what kind of job she wanted. Then, when the volunteer registers on site, they can sign up in any of a number of categories, for example hospitality and registration.
When jenn volunteered before the event she saw that Allena needed special dungeon volunteers and signed up for that duty. It involved a pre-planning meeting held on the Tuesday before the event. jenn showed up at the Wet Spot at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday morning to help with the loadout. She put in a couple of hours, left, returned at nine that night to help set up the equipment in the ballroom. When she left at midnight Allena was still working!
I asked jenn how the organizers scheduled her hours. She said she'd approached Allena during her volunteer orientation and said, "I need to keep busy, can I put in more hours?" Volunteers report to coordinators when they had completed a shift and how many hours they had put in toward their required eight.
For jenn, the registration discount was not the most important motivation for her to volunteer. "For me, being so new and not knowing a lot of people, it's a great way to network and make friends," she said. "I'm learning a lot and having a great time."
I spent the afternoon connecting with the idea of leather community.
Master Jim and slave marsha: High Protocol
To give you some idea of the kinds of choices I'm facing, the third round of workshops today included Spencer Bergstedt's punching presentation, a bottom's roundtable, a 24/7 discussion, and the workshop I attended, High Protocol.
Master Jim and slave marsha expanded my understanding of slavery. He's gay, she's lesbian, and she's his slave. She'd bottomed to him and subbed to him for quite a while before entering into the slavery contract.
There's a great interest in protocol, in the history of Old Guard leather and the development of the New Guard. The presenters didn't claim to be experts, and they weren't on the scene in Old Leather times, but they've done some research and talking to people who were, especially Joseph Bean, director of the Leather Archives. Their brief, unofficial history: decades ago, the gay men's community passed BDSM information and training person-to-person. The rise of leather organizations providing open training largely supplanted the mentorship system, and the AIDS epidemic wiped out many of the tribal elders who had been keeping the leather traditions. Differences between old leather and new leather: the Old Guard treated tops and bottoms as very distinct roles. New Leather emphasizes the guidelines defining safe, sane and consensual behaviors, and accepts switching more easily.
For Master Jim, protocol means a set of behavioral instructions. High protocol means living your life in protocol. Each person designs their own sets of protocols followed within the BDSM relationship. "What I prefer may not be what you prefer." Other slave owners in the room chimed in. Some prefer their slaves to order dinner, others will do it for them. The point is that the Top, Dom/me or Master sets the rules, and the bottom, sub or slave follows them.
As an example of one way to define protocols, the pair demonstrated a few of their procedures: she walks behind him and opens doors; she refers requests for interaction to him. On his part, he intervenes when people try to interact with her. They have less formal, more discreet protocols for moving in public--she can sit in chairs in restaurants--and more formal procedures for leather events and time they spend together privately at home.
Discussion got lively when the topic broadened to protocols that the community might recognize. "We can't define protocol. We can define what protocol means, but there's no one protocol," Master Jim said. It was interesting to watch the crowd discuss communication, acceptable behavior, and the creation of recognized rituals.
For Master Jim and slave marsha, the point was not to advocate a particular path, but to demonstrate what they do to increase understanding and community support for their lifestyle. People who interact with them do so knowing they are interacting with a Master/slave pair who have rules about how they conduct their relationship. Sometimes people object to having to ask Jim before talking to marsha, but that's the way their lives work. Master Jim said, "If they don't want to participate in my protocol, they don't have to, but I'd like them to respect it."
Opening Ceremonies
Often if you're not a member of an organization--or even if you are--official ceremonies can be boring. I was surprised to see so many people linger after dinner to watch the National Leather Association International Opening Ceremonies, which were interpreted by an ASL translator.
The ceremony started with a flag parade, including: the American flag, the Canadian flag, the Pride Flag, the NLAI flag, and banners from various NLAI chapters. The new Seattle chapter flag got a cheer. I know I'm missing some flags--there were lots of them, and they moved fairly quickly. Next we were introduced to incoming and future executive council members. NLAI president Spencer Bergstedt, Master of Ceremonies, kept the presentation moving snappily.
Awards were handed out to chapters and people of merit. I wasn't able to catch them all, but Spencer assures me they'll be on the web site. However, the award to Living in Leather organizer Eileen Fix got a standing ovation. She's the first coordinator to convince the hotel to allow an on-site dungeon. Better yet, she's agreed to take on the job again next year for LIL 2001 in Chicago.
Spencer will be returning as organization president. The org couldn't ask for a finer promoter. He reminded people to check out the silent auction. He also announced that tomorrow during dinner several items will be auctioned off, including Northwest community luminary Lee Willis' Master cap. He almost didn't finish that sentence for his tears.
I was surprised at how interested I was in the proceedings. It helped to connect me to the organization putting on this event and gave me a sense of inlcusion in an ongoing community.
Now I'm off to the Fetish Ball. Beautiful people strutting their stuff! Judging from some of the costumes I saw at dinner it's going to be eye candy. This event is open to the public, so if you're in Seattle and free for the evening, come on down to the Doubletree!
Fetish Ball
It's still going on as I write and it's definitely worth the price of admission. The leather crowd struts its stuff! When I walked in the ballroom, I saw: the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence in habits and wimples; a man wearing gossamer butterfly wings; and Jane Duvall in a smashing red and gold Chinese brocade hobble dress with matching corset. She showed me the ticket she'd been written by the Fashion Police: "MOVING VIOLATION, how CAN you MOVE in that thing?"
The basic dress code was black, of course, including the full panoply of leather vests, pants and boots. For the women it was a corset night--purple, leopard spot, scarlet. There were tuxes on men and tuxes on women; latex maids, latex cops, and a cat woman in a full latex body suit. When the tables were moved the crowd filled the dance floor, dancing enthusiastically. Some dancers got into, um, close interpersonal moves. A hot night in more ways than one!
We had two sets of entertainment. The Visqueens, seven queens sporting garters, feather boas, high heels, mustaches and beards, danced and lip synched to "Hey Big Spender" and a Village People medley. Then there was the fashion show, featuring: custom latex outfits...custom leather outfits...silk handcrafted corsets...chain mail...velvet...rubber pants...gossamer creations in glittering colors. A blue latex cop dress and red satin body corset were crowd favorites. A black angel wearing feathered wings did a striptease, wriggling out of skirt and blouse. Once they took their turn on the runway, the models crowded around the stage, howling and cheering each other on.
The ball is scheduled to last until midnight. The dungeon opened its doors at eleven and runs until four a.m. That's where I'm headed next.
At least five hundred people have checked in with registration for this event. The Friday night Fetish Ball was standing room only and the dungeon was still packed with people when I left at 1 a.m. this morning. In each of the workshop time slots there are one or two which attract a full room of 20 to 30 people, and the rest draw smaller crowds of five to ten participants.
Panel: Starting Out in Erotica
This panel discussion was facilitated by Ambrose McNibble and featured authors Karen Taylor, Conrad Hodson, Margaret Weller and Lydia Swartz. This was one of the well attended workshops. Each of the writers spoke in turn and then took questions from the audience.
Each writer takes a different approach to the craft. None is making a living writing erotic fiction and all write short fiction. Karen Taylor writes to specification, tailoring her fiction to the specific audience she's targeting. Lydia Swartz writes because she has to, writes what speaks to her, and only then looks for a market for her work.
The writers had definitions of smut. For Taylor, pornography is explicit--she describes the fingers touching the body part. Erotica describes the feeling in romantic language but skips the physical detail. For Lydia, smut should be wankable. She reads her fiction into a tape recorder and plays it to herself. If it doesn't inspire her to masturbate, she said, she knows it's not done.
The writers had specific suggestions for selling work. Taylor noted that gay male porn is action-oriented. Men want to know the sizes of things, the 36C bra. Women are more introspective, wanting to know what's going on inside a character's head. Hodson noted that when an editor assembles a writer's guideline and the person submitting work doesn't read it, it's like placing a personal ad and getting inappropriate responses--it's very irritating to the editor and isn't likely to sell your work. Also, the writers agreed, editors have a grammar fetish. If you get it wrong, you break the storytelling spell. Weller suggested finding writers whose work resonates with you. "Read the stuff you like to read and you could easily end up writing like that."
McNibble spoke to issues of copyright. Work is easy to pirate from the internet. He recommended registering works with the copyright office. Web site publication hasn't yet developed the mechanisms that print publishing follows, and specifically, web sites don't necessarily write contracts. He recommends writing your own contract and including:
He generally writes a contract which includes six months exclusive use of the material and perpetual non-exclusive archive rights. This is especially useful because web sites form the hottest paying market right now. The writers agreed that print magazines publishing BDSM material are fragile, going out of business usually in a year, but internet markets are a hot segment that is developing rapidly. The rumors are true--it's easiest to peddle your smut on the net.
Vendors:
You can outfit yourself from head to toe to toys in the LIL bazaar. There's even more variety than at the Folsom Street Fair! Of course there's the usual assortment of whips, cuffs, and electric paddles. There are leather pants, vests, corsets, and studded wrist straps. Prefer latex? Choose from corsets, bras, men's shirts and shorts. There are T-shirts that say "slave" and bumper stickers that say "kinky". If that's not enough, there are brocade evening gowns, velvet gloves, and whole snake skins you can use to make your own fashions. Or you can choose to decorate your body more permanently with an on-site tatoo or body piercing.
Interview with a vendor:
I stopped and talked to Amy Schmitz of Delicious Corsets. I asked her how the event was going. "The staff's been great," she said.
She and her partner have been in business for five years, but only started to do the vendor circuit a year ago; since then they've hit Black Rose, the Boston Fetish Flea, and Meet Me In St. Louis. I asked her what sent her on the road. "It gives us more direct contact with people. It's really good for our product, for people to feel them," she said.
All their corsets are made by hand. She couldn't really estimate how long it would take to make one because each one is unique and some are more complicated than others. She spends ten hours at a minimum though. "I've been sewing for a very long time. I can upholster a sofa in the time it takes to make a corset. I can hand bead a wedding gown in the time it takes to make a corset," she said.
One thing she really likes about LIL is that the event sold day passes. That brought a lot of people in who would not otherwise have come. And, the vendor area is open to the public--you don't even have to have a day pass to get in.
Bladerunner: Ageplay
Making another set of hard choices, I skipped workshops on structuring DS relationships, a discussion of barebacking and other real SM isuses, and extended leather families, to audit a presentation about a subject I enjoy--playing at being a child.
Bladerunner founded KATSPdx in Portland, a club and an Egroups mailing list. When she first started doing ageplay she found there were few resources for the kind of play she did. She asked to conduct a workshop at LIL and three years ago conducted her first, and has been giving workshops on the subject at LIL ever since. Now, KATSPdx has spawned several other local ageplay groups, including one in Seattle.
Up until very recently, ageplay meant either adults acting as infants, or schoolgirl outfits worn in BDSM scenes. As Bladerunner and others begin to speak about their experiences and form groups, more and more people have begun to talk about other kinds of ageplay. Bladerunner's group focuses on regressive ageplay. Their outings involve playing with toys or going out for ice cream. They're completely non-sexual and non-BDSM events. Regressive ageplay, she explained, involves the personality. "We fall into being five," she said.
Regressive ageplay is similar to allowing an inner child out to play. The difference for Bladerunner is that ageplay involves an aspect of parenting. Her Daddy sets the boundaries for the relationship and maintains them, allowing her the freedom to, well, play.
In her private play she does include BDSM and sexuality with her ageplay. She was careful to note that this kind of roleplaying has nothing to do with pedophilia. "We're not playing with bio kids here," she pointed out. All this play happens between consenting adults.
Sometimes she does things she wishes she'd done as a kid. At other times she relives things she enjoyed about her childhood. She has a good relationship with her father and with the kids in her life. It's not that she's trying to reclaim anything about her childhood, she said, "It's just that my childhood never ended."
Saturday dinner program
The dinner program focused on community service. National Leather Association International executive committee members announced community projects, including:
Silent auction items lined tables along the walls, and several items were auctioned off from the podium during dinner. Proceeds benefit the LIL scholarship fund and the Leather Archives and Museum. Volunteer award winners emphasized that the organization is not just about LIL, with workshops and parties, it's about providing national and international advocacy and education for all leather folk of every gender and orientation.
The evening included more than speeches. The Human Sculpture Troupe presented a performance art piece with a post-modern sensibility combining writhing acrobatics with suspension bondage.
Then the ballroom was converted once again to a dungeon. Conference participants continue to marvel that we're not all jumping onto buses to head for a drafty unheated warehouse. Instead, we can set up the equipment in the hotel, and just take the elevator to the room when the scene's over. What a luxury! We're enjoying both the convenience and the sense that it's okay to be who we are, even in a four star hotel.
Sunday morning's workshop choices were especially difficult. Laura Antoniou and Master Steve presented "Service Oriented Submission", Jane and Jim Duvall of Jane's Guide talked on "Getting Your Kinky Business Online", there was a workshop on "Sacred SM", another on "Strap-on Sex," and several others. The workshop I chose to attend addressed a subject I've been interested in since I first saw a wasp-waisted woman.
Kslave and MasterC: Corsetry for Waist Training
Most women wear corsets strictly for decoration. Others are interested in waist training. Reasons for doing waist training can include: wanting the look; losing weight; pleasing your spouse. Several years ago Kslave became interested in corsetry as a form of body modification. She doesn't make or sell corsets, she wears them, and participants in the workshop were pleased to find an independent source of information on the subject.
Kslave explained there are visual and health considerations in deciding to do waist training. Some of the pros: the corset gives that tiny waist look that men love. It enforces erect posture which looks good and feels great. The corset provides a muscular workout and strengthens the back muscles--Kslave commented that she hasn't had back pain since she started wearing corsets. Also, the corset restricts the stomach, forcing the wearer to eat smaller amounts more often, which encourages weight loss and is a healthier eating pattern. On the negative side, the look doesn't come completely free of cost--that waspy silhouette ends with a flesh bulge at the top of the corset. There are health impacts too. Kslave stopped drinking carbonated sodas when she started waist training because a compressed abdomen has less space to process the gas. There is the danger of a prolapsed uterus. Women who have heart or circulation trouble, who are pregnant, or attempting to become pregnant, should not waist train at all.
Kslave sleeps in her corset. She pointed out that should be removed at least two hours a day to allow the skin to breathe. It should also be removed when you need to move freely or breathe deeply, as in exercise.
Kslave spread a dozen corsets on the table for us to look at and touch while she talked. For waist training, she said, corsets should be custom made to your measurements. A corset will cost at least $300, take up to six months to make, and last about three months when worn 22 hours a day. Important considerations include:
Kslave and MasterC ended the workshop with a demonstration of how to lace in the corset by yourself, or be laced into it by a partner. For more information about Kslave's experiences with corset training she referred people to her website.
I left the workshop and immediately revisited Delicious Corsets in the vendor room to look at the corsets on their table, now that I had an education about how to look at them. I was very pleased to discover that they were made of durable fabrics and that the stays were spiral boning and sewn into their own pockets. Since I'm interested in just decorative corsets at the moment, allowed Amy to lace me into a beautiful gold number. I could definitely feel the difference between a quality corset and my off-the-rack leather one. I didn't buy it but it's definitely tempting!
Interview with a sponsor:
Damon Lioncourt had planned to attend LIL this year. He was interested in contributing to the event by volunteering or making a presentation. He also planned to advertise his new business by placing a one-page ad. On investigation he found that the copper level sponsorship would give him a platinum event pass and a full page ad for little more than the cost of each item separately. The name of his business was also mentioned on all press releases and announced at every presentation. "It really is good value as advertising goes," he said.
LIL also reaches a target audience for his product. His business, Innocence Marketing, better known as Rubbermania.com, sells condoms. The site carries "pretty much everything that's made," he said. He also stocks lube. His site offers SSL ordering for secure credit card transactions, and delivers same-day shipping.
Sponsorship was a great way for him to contribute a community service and also meet the needs of his business. He couldn't afford to be a sponsor at most events. Here, the staff has made him feel special. "They treated me as well as Seafair treats Microsoft," he said. Besides, it's a great way to attend the event. "I thought it would be fun, and it has turned out to be fun."
Jeff Hengst Art Show and Performance Art
Everywhere you go at LIL you run into a Jeff Hengst painting. His huge canvases decorate the ballrooms and line an entire hall in the vendor area. And, he donated a painting to the Saturday night auction. His images are of nude bodies: male, female, large and thin, wrapped in rope, pierced, beautiful and suffering. His art has given visual shape to this entire event.
Hengst is a professional artist who has a painting at Seattle's Space Needle and another at St. Mark's Cathdral, and makes his living from Hengst Studio. He works in oil on panel or canvas. His works range from moderate to gigantic--his largest image (not on site) is 21'x10'. His work is about half and half figurative and abstract, and often his figurative art has abstract backgrounds; the combination makes for dynamic images that jump out of the canvas.
I asked him how he got involved in painting BDSM images and showing his paintings at LIL. "I've known a number of folks who've been involved for a long time," he said, but hadn't really connected with the community. His search for models to paint nude brought him into contact with several people who were involved with putting on LIL, including Seattle Director Eileen Fix. Hengst approached Fix with the idea of taking photos at LIL to paint from later. A month before the event, Hengst provided his studio for Fix's pre-event volunteer party. "The big door opener was the party," he said. Things took off from there.
Hengst was attracted to the passion, intensity and strength that people bring to BDSM. He wanted to bring the same passion to his figurative work. Often, art featuring nudes or erotic imagery falls flat because the imagery is timid. "I'm not into pretty. I'm interested in power," he said. So he picked up his brush and created a score of paintings especially for the event.
Although Hengst doesn't practice BDSM, he connects with the concept of ritual. At the end of the dinner presentations on Saturday night he presented his Mud Man Ritual. In a darkened room, he laid out feathers, a candle, water, and a rock at the four quarters of a spotlighted stage. In rapid stages he took off his shirt and then his pants, smearing himself with mud on the chest, genitals, head, legs. As he did so he immediately became something other--a creature divested of human societal convention, stripped to the basic elements of his earthly nature. The Tibetan monk sound track of chanting voices, pounding drums, clashing symbals and blaring horns provided an energy which drove his transformation. He presented a painting to the four directions, broke it into quarters, and laid the pieces on the stage, smearing them with mud. At the conclusion of the piece he held his paintbrushes aloft. The piece was raw, primal, the artist tapping into the very source of his art.
Although this was the first time he had presented the piece as performance art, he had allowed others to witness the rite before. It isn't just a performance--he performs the ritual whenever he feels the need. "To paint something worthwhile you must be in the cycle of the gift," he said. "Our ancestors were wise enough to give back to the earth their best seeds. To give back, I must give something of sacrifice." It's important to him that people understand that the painting he destroyed was not a junk painting. "That was a good painting. It really hurt," he said. By giving a painting back to the earth he renews his connection with the cycle and is once again ready to receive. The ritual itself was performed as a gift to the community. "People have done so much for me. I wanted to give back."
James and Gwen: Japanese Style Rope Bondage
This workshop could have been subtitled "James and the Magic Forklift". It was held in the ballroom with the dungeon equipment. James and Gwen made full use of the forklift that has featured in many a pre-LIL wet dream. The Seattle pair was joined by Eddie and Non-famous Lauren. Eddie suspended Lauren while James tied Gwen and discussed bondage topics. This intermediate level workshop was aimed at bondage practitioners interested in suspension or in the Japanese style of bondage.
James has been practicing bondage for five years and eastern style for three. He calls his work Japanese "style" because hasn't trained formally in a Japanese school.
"A rope to me is the same as a bag of needles or a single tail whip," he said. "It's like any other toy." It can be sadistic or sensual, painful or comfortable. "It really comes down to what you want to do with your partner." For James, the eastern style aspect defines bondage as one point of a triad, with the other points being art and spirituality. In terms of art, it isn't necessarily that the rope work needs to be pretty, but more that it produces a subject in a particular state of mind. He discovered the spiritual aspect through the technical. Like many tops, he began to learn how to tie someone up by practicing on himself. As time went on he found himself tying himself up less for technical practice than for the meditative sensation.
That spirituality reflects in his choice of materials. He uses hemp rope almost exclusively, oiled with an organic oil. That sense of life in the rope helps him to bond with it. In practical terms, synthetic fibres don't hold tension knots, but hemp will.
James and Eddie took pains to explain that suspension bondage is one of the riskiest of BDSM art. "You should get really proficient at floor work" before taking someone off the ground, James said. He recommended working into suspension slowly, starting with partial suspensions before moving into full suspension. Because of the risk involved, even though he's taking a Top or Dom role he also prefers to negotiate with his subject on an equal-to-equal basis while the rope goes on. "We're both trying to make the same thing happen, so we're really a team."
In actual technique, the best thing to do is practice. "What I'm doing is my interpretation of this style," he said. "Improvisation is a main component of the style." The key is to learn technique and then forget it--for it to become so natural and instinctive that the mind can focus on other aspects of the scene.
In practical terms, James recommended tying short modular pieces on the body, so that any individual part could be readjusted later. Eddie commented that he sometimes uses a different color piece to tie the wrists, because if the subject hits a limit, it is most often the wrists that need to be immediately released, and the different color helps him to find that particular piece of rope quickly.
Eddie hoisted Non-famous Lauren upside down, screaming, while James lifted Gwen horizontally. An ASL interpreter was translating the workshop for a participant. When Eddie she recovered her breath, Non-famous Lauren asked the interpreter, "Did you translate the screams?" Everyone laughed. The interpreter translated the question and then said, "Yes!" Gwen and Lauren continued to field questions for most of the workshop, a true example of grace under pressure.
An hour and a half is not enough time to cover the art of suspension in any kind of detail. James has more information and photos on his website, Nawa Shibari.
Dungeon Parties
A well constructed dungeon is a lot like a Charles Addams cartoon. When you first walk through the door the sounds wash over you: a dozen whips landing on flesh; the crackle of electricity somewhere out of sight; a cacophony of screams, from deep base to high soprano.
The LIL dungeons filled a grand ballroom. There was enough length to allow a ponyboy to pull a cart across the room and back. The equipment, most from the Wet Spot and some borrowed, was scattered evenly across the room. There was the usual assortment of massage tables and A frames, a St. Andrews cross, and spanking benches. There were several cages, and several different kinds of suspension frame. A row of semi-private booths provided something of a medical area for electrical scenes and blood play. The star attraction, of course, was the forklift, run by experienced operators under the supervision of a DM.
There were whipping scenes, piercing scenes, and slaves kneeling at the feet of their masters. Stand-out images, for me, included the ponyboy, jingling proudly in the traces; a breast pierced with dozens of skewers which were then hit with a paddle; and another piercing scene with dozens of bright helium balloons tied to the needles. The parties provided a venue for participants to practice what we'd learned in the workshops. The kidnapping workshop in particular spawned several abduction scenes Saturday night. There was whipping, electric play, and knifeplay, although hotel rules prohibited practicing fireplay.
Tables lined the play area, allowing for socializing and light dominance play. There was a lot of laughing and teasing, pinching and poking in that area. On Saturday the hotel staff catered Italian anti-pasti snacks. Sunday night someone brought out a stack of the NLAI rulers to lay on the tables, starting more than one ruler fight. Seattle director Eileen Fix arranged a special treat on Saturday night: the hotel kept the coffee shop open until 4 a.m. and the pool and jacuzzi open all night, so LIL participants could leave the dungeon, soak out the aches, and refuel, before heading back to the hotel room. If there's a kinky heaven, this is it.
There were dungeon parties on site on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For those who still haven't had enough, or just want to reconnect with local friends at a local club, the Wet Spot is having an Afterglow party on Monday night which is free to Wet Spot members and LIL participants.
I've attended science fiction conventions, Pagan conventions, computer conventions and professional organization conventions. In the last year I've attended two other leather folk gatherings. I've had a better time at this one than at any other convention I've attended. Sure, there were glitches: the program book schedule and the portable schedule sometimes didn't quite match; the run pins didn't arrive until Saturday; Sunday morning brunch started at the same time as the first workshop schedule. In a huge volunteer endeavor there are always going to be snags, and as snags go, these were not show-stoppers. The major pieces were solidly in place: the schedule ran on time, volunteers were always around to answer questions and solve problems, the food was plentiful and delicious, and the dungeons were on site.
The staff did an impressive job. I didn't know any of them before the event, but I certainly have seen them under stress. There are always crises presented by the participants and the site, and the LIL staff fielded their share of those. Volunteers didn't show up; workshops got cancelled; the keynote speaker took ill and didn't make it; and a Phillipine high school had its class reunion in the ballroom next to ours during our Saturday night dinner, providing a surreal backdrop of Elvis, salsa and show tunes to some very serious speeches. Through it all the entirely volunteer LIL staff stayed calm, cheerful and responsive.
I didn't interview a workshop presenter, but I gave a presentation. The LIL staff was very well organized for presenters before the event. It was very clear who I needed to talk to and how I needed to present my proposal. I knew it was accepted and what my time slot would be well in advance. My time slot was changed to accomodate my professional needs. Spencer nagged the presenters for our biographies and workshop descriptions and reminded us repeatedly of our deadline dates. When I walked on site, the volunteer coordinator, Lady Victoria, saw my name on my badge, recognized me as a presenter, and wished me luck with my presentation. There was always a huge bottle of water and stack of cups on the table outside the workshop rooms for both presenters and participants. I couldn't think of a way to improve this process.
I'm definitely planning on attending LIL next year. It's in Chicago, and Spencer has already promised that there will be shuttle buses to take us to the Leather Archives and Museum. Eileen Fix will be event director again and has entered into negotiations with Doubletree for a long-term contract. It seems that the critical factors that made this such a great event are in place again for next year.
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