So this past Tuesday was our last Keyhole Session of the season and it was a pretty fantastic night. Not that that means we’re going to be totally absent over the summer. In August, there’s talk of doing another Girls on Film session, seeing as how the first one was so successful. Nothing’s confirmed yet, but once it is I’ll be posting about it here & elsewhere.
Before that happens, however, we have this: SneakPeek. From July 8th to July 13th we’ll be showing off some of the best artwork that’s come out of the past 55 Keyhole Sessions at the Gladstone Art Bar, here in Toronto. Click through to find more information about both the exhibition and our Gala opening on July 10th. There’s a chance, space & time allowing, that I’ll be doing a bit of a demo at the opening. Hopefully I can find myself a little corner I can tie in…
The ToroGRUE 2 happened. After a lively meet & greet Friday night, Saturday was a day full of amazing discussions from a mix of brilliant minds. Sunday, lots of pancakes happened, made by Men in Kilts, followed by a little bit more GRUEing. I don’t think any of us were expecting the Sunday session to continue quite as it did, but I for one loved it. Graydancer has a post up about his impressions of this GRUE – the second in Toronto, and certainly not the last – as well as what I think might be the best picture of him and I I’ve seen to date:
Men In Kilts With Kitchen Implements
Our first ever Girls on Film Keyhole Session happened. Lots of fantastic shots came out of that night. A sure success, and one we’ll for sure be repeating. I had a LOT of fun, tying for Keyhole in a way I don’t often get a chance to. Fast, and for restraint as opposed to purely aesthetics. A pretty complete collection of shots from that night can be found here One of my favourite shots of the evening, below, was taken by VoulaVous and I think is simply lovely.
The following week The Keyhole Sessions and Art Battle Toronto teamed up for Art Battle 6. The final Battle of that night was two artists painting two of our models. I tied in front of the Art Battle crowd… not sure what they were expecting but they were certainly paying attention. Sonya shot a video of me tying, which is good as it shows the crowd around us but I still find it very strange watching myself tie on video.
As a result of my work with The Keyhole Sessions I’ve been invited to give a workshop on Tying the Female Form as part of Kinky4Play. That’s happening mid-August. I’ll post more details as they come up.
I discovered a new online artist (thanks to a blog post by Violet Blue) whose work I admire and am following with great interest. Ben Newman keeps a blog at bennewmanart.blogspot.com and is very much worth a look. Here’s a sample piece of his. (I am such a fan of the red rope in this.)
"Handle with Care" by Ben Newman
Part of the Sunday session at the GRUE was a discussion I led (after making many pancakes and watching Graydancer wrassle with my partner A.) on Philosophies of Service. I’m expanding that with more notes and thoughts, with the idea of eventually turning it into a class. Yes, I’d like to get on that touring circuit. But I don’t feel any great need to get on that circuit as a rope educator. At least, not at this moment. Who knows, that may change with time.
A pic from last week’s Keyhole Session, featuring Madison Young and Dylan Ryan posing and playing to a packed house. Thanks, as always, to Nathaniel for grabbing the shot.
This month at Keyhole we’re doing something a little special. Our first contest, TEASE, happens all through April, a celebration of moving out of the dour long winter. Each time you show up to a session, your name gets entered into a draw for one of three prizes. Bring someone new with you, your name goes in again. Show up for all FOUR weeks in April, and you get a third extra chance. Full rules and the list of prizes can be found at TheKeyholeSessions.com.
Last year around this time I had the pleasure of working with Madison Young for the first time, organizing her workshop “The Zen Submissive” at Northbound Leather, while she was here attending the 2009 Feminist Porn Awards. When I heard from the lovely people at Good For Her that Madison was going to be back in Toronto this year for the Awards, I didn’t waste much time in getting in touch with her and finding out if she’d be interested in working with me again to set up some appearances and events while she’s in town.
And, well, happily, yes.
Firstly, and this is very exciting for me, Madison will be appearing as one of our models for The Keyhole Sessions on Tuesday, April 6th. She’ll be on stage with Dylan Ryan – a combination I believe will make for a VERY interesting evening.
The next night I’ve arranged for Madison to host a presentation and discussion on Feminism and Submission at Café Taste, a fantastic wine bar here in Parkdale, in Toronto. It’ll be a couple hours of chatting and snacking and drinking, with some presentation material besides. Click on the link above for more info.
Thursday and Friday of that week are, of course, the 2010 Feminist Porn Awards. Which you should go to.
Saturday afternoon Madison is giving a workshop at Northbound Leather around puppy and pony play. Check the event page here for more info and a very cute picture of Madison the puppy. That workshop starts at 2pm, so even if you were out late the night before at the FPA’s after party, you can still make it (mostly) intact.
And all that in one week!
And that’s not even all.
More to come.
A lifedrawing class for those who like their subjects a little on the racy side. Click the image above for more information. Next Session: Tuesday September 14th 8:00 PM Follow us on Twitter @KeyholeSessions
