Several years ago, I happened upon some startling erotic pho..

Several years ago, I happened upon some startling erotic photos of women tied up in artful knots on Pinterest. It's called “shibari” and has its origins in Japan. I was spellbound by the skill and the beauty, not to mention the visceral response to seeing a naked body tightly bound. Immediately I wanted so very much to be ensnared myself. I fantasized about someone making art with my body and how it would feel to let them bind me. And yesterday, I finally had the opportunity! Joey Ortega @la_convoitise_des_yeux, badass tattooer (see my last live stream recording), artist, craftsman, fetish accessory designer and service Dom, also happens to be a shibari artist! He's pretty much a one-stop-shop of wantonness and he invited me over to his house to give me a first taste of his world. I've tangled with a handful of self-described Doms before, and played with restraints, but never full body restriction leaving me completely vulnerable. For someone who loves her freedom and being in control, I do get a shameful kick out of being captured and rendered helpless. And there is just something about rope... maybe it's the way it's created with many smaller cords of twisted twine, held together by the tension of opposition (I can relate to building a kind of strength with contradictions since I'm a devil's advocate). But basically, I just love the look of rope, the feel of it, the smell of it. It's a poetically primitive tool. It's iconic. Rope is the demise of every melodrama heroine on the train tracks, crying for help (note to self: that would be a fun photo series). Joey explained to me that he chose this particular kind of rope, hasegawa jute, because the natural fibers help with the friction in the ties. He specially prepared the rope by “breaking” it, then saturating it with oil and baking it for a short amount of time. The oil made the ropes feel slightly waxy, and gave them a strong, wonderfully earthy scent. I liked the way they felt on my bare skin. He asked me to close my eyes and just *feel*. I followed his instruction and in the darkness every sensation intensified. I could feel his fingers deftly, but roughly, winding the rope around wrists and ankles, arms and legs, entwining around my body and in between the coils and constricted body parts, knotting here, looping there. Occasionally, either he or the rope would pinch me painfully as he worked a careful tautness. I discovered small joyful moments, between the uncomfortable ones, when the bumpy ridges of the rope would rub and tickle my skin as it was pulled through and around to form the next whorl. Joey moved me through several transitions of contorted poses. In some positions, my legs looked like sausages, wrapped tightly in string. He crisscrossed the rope around my chest, arms, neck and breasts and pinned my arms to my back. I could feel him looping the rope behind me, creating a connection between the nape of my neck and my bound wrists. As he threaded the rope from there to the metal ring in the beam in his ceiling, I felt a huge wave of excitement and anticipation as the rope when taut. Next came the legs, one at a time, until I was suspended in the air. The rope tightened around my whole body and *squeezed* me, the star pattern across my chest almost, but not quite, ch🖤king me. I expected it to hurt more than it did. It wasn't nothing, but it wasn't bad. It was interesting to experience and endure it, and float for a moment, spinning slowly in the air. I could keep writing about all of the little things that Joey did to me with his instruments of t🖤rture, but I'd rather save that for another time... until then, I hope you appreciate these photos from my first shibari adventure! *Also there is a sweet feet pic in this set for my feet peeps!* (P.S. There were a few that were just a little too much for me to put out on the internet since the ropes do strange things to the look of the body, but the exhibitionist in me simply has to show someone... 👁 so I will be sending a little DM to anyone who has spent more than $100 on my OF page!) photos by Joey Ortega