An Interview about Shibari Life Drawing – Intimacy, Rope, and the Art of Witnessing
An interview with writer Scarlett Stokes, Dan & model Dorcara
In summer 2025, a young writer from England, Scarlett Stokes, joined one of our Shibari Life Drawing evenings at Shibari Studio Berlin. She was so curious, moved, and switched-on by the experience that she reached out afterwards and asked if she could interview us.
Her questions cut right to the core of what we do here – intimacy, safety, art, community – so I wanted to share them, along with our answers, as a window into this practice.
Questions from Scarlett to Dan
What is Shibari Life Drawing?
Shibari Life Drawing is a hybrid between Japanese rope art (Shibari) and traditional figure drawing. A model is tied in rope, often in expressive or meditative poses, and participants capture that energy and form on paper using different styles and techniques.
It’s less about strict anatomy study and more about translating emotional presence, vulnerability, and connection into art.
How is it different from Shibari?
Shibari on its own is about the rope experience: the sensation, the physicality, the connection between rigger and model.
Shibari Life Drawing shifts the focus — the ropes become a visual language. It is about witnessing rather than participating, transforming a private rope moment into a collective source of artistic inspiration and expression.
How is it different from regular life drawing?
In classic life drawing, you focus on proportion, anatomy, and stillness.
Here, the ropes introduce narrative and emotion: tension, gravity, and sometimes suspension change how the body is perceived. The energy in the room is different too — slower, more intimate, layered with trust and vulnerability.
Why did you start running classes?
I wanted to create an accessible entry point into Shibari. Not everyone is ready to be tied or to commit to a full workshop, but many are curious about the practice.
Combining it with drawing opens the door wider: you can witness, learn, and engage creatively without tying or being tied yourself. For me, it is also about creating safe spaces where art and intimacy intertwine.
What's the history of Shibari Life Drawing?
It emerged organically from both art and rope communities. Artists have always drawn bodies in rope, but structured sessions started gaining traction about a decade ago in Europe.
In Berlin, it is now part of a larger culture of blending performance, intimacy, and art.
Is there a strong community of people who do Shibari Life Drawing?
Yes, and it is growing. Berlin especially has become a hub, because it values experimentation and cross-disciplinary art.
Each organizer brings their own style: some focus on performance, some on technical rope. My classes emphasize intimacy, accessibility, and drawing as a shared act of witnessing.
People often associate Shibari with sexuality – but is intimacy a more appropriate word?
Absolutely. Sexuality can be one aspect, but intimacy is the core.
Rope is about trust, surrender, and presence. When people witness that, it feels deeply human — less about sex, more about connection. That’s why the energy in the room is calm, reflective, and intimate but not sexual.
The sessions are very different from regular life drawing – what’s important to know about the classes?
The most important thing: this is not a performance to consume, it’s an experience to participate in.
We begin with a talk about safety, consent, and what Shibari actually is. The model is always comfortable and supported. For participants, it’s about slowing down, observing deeply, and drawing what you feel as much as what you see.
Especially for those who don’t know Shibari: what do you explain at the beginning about suspension, safety and comfort?
I explain that suspension is not just “hanging someone in the air” — it requires strong technical skill, constant communication, and attention to the body.
The model’s comfort and safety always come first. When people see that care in action, they understand that Shibari is about connection, not control.
Why should people come to a Shibari Life Drawing workshop?
Because it opens new ways of seeing.
You’ll witness vulnerability and strength in the same body, and it will shift how you draw and how you relate to others. Many participants tell me they leave more grounded, inspired, and open — not just as artists, but as people.
Why show this intimacy to other people?
Because intimacy is universal.
By sharing it in a safe, guided setting, we remind ourselves that vulnerability is not weakness — it is art, it is human. Making it visible allows us to learn from it, to normalise closeness, and to see beauty in the honest expression of trust.
What is the experience of sharing it like, for the group?
It’s surprisingly collective. People enter as strangers, but by the end, the room feels soft, connected, and collaborative.
Everyone has witnessed something personal, and translating that into drawings becomes a shared act of reflection and individual artistic expression. It’s quiet, but powerful — and the results are wonderful memories that stay with us.
Questions from Scarlett to Dorcara (model)
What is the experience of Shibari Life Drawing like for you?
For me, it’s very meditative. When I’m in the ropes, my awareness shifts — I’m fully present in my body, yet also in dialogue with the rigger tying me and the people drawing.
It feels like being both subject and storyteller: my body becomes a canvas, and the ropes guide how the story unfolds.
Why do you like it?
I like that it combines vulnerability and strength. Being tied can feel like surrender, but it’s also empowering to hold space for others to witness and create.
I enjoy the calm energy of the sessions — it’s not about performing, but about being seen authentically, without needing to hide or control how I appear.
Additionally, I’m always fascinated by all the different angles and individual focus that people bring to their drawings. Seeing those outer perspectives in the end is very fulfilling, especially because I love seeing myself in ropes.
Why show this intimacy to other people? What is the experience of sharing it like?
Because intimacy is something we all crave, but rarely share openly.
By offering mine in this safe setting, I invite others to reflect on their own relationship to closeness and trust. Sharing it feels surprisingly liberating — the room becomes a collective container where vulnerability turns into beauty, and everyone walks away with a piece of that shared honesty on paper.
Read Scarlett’s full article
If you’d like to read Scarlett’s original piece about her experience at Shibari Life Drawing, you can find it here: Shibari Life Drawing – Sensitive, Sensual, Safe
Dorcara tied by Dan Carabas in a life drawing evening.