ROPE JAM STUDIO

Our studio is proudly LGBTQIA+, FLINTA+ and BiPOC supporter and ally, and we are committed to creating an inclusive and welcoming space for all bodies and identities.

SHIBARI ELEMENTS 10 // ROPE PORTRAITS — FACE ROPE LAB // INTERMEDIATE

The Shibari Elements Lab series returns, expanded to provide all the tools you need to create your own alchemical Kinbaku and Shibari scenes.

Each Element explores a single fundamental component of rope in depth. Together, they form a growing vocabulary that can be combined and applied to floor work, self-tying, partial suspension and full suspension.

ELEMENT 10 // ROPE PORTRAITS — FACE ROPE LAB

The face is where identity, emotion, resistance and surrender become visible.

In Rope Portraits — Face Rope Lab, we will explore the complete face through rope, including the forehead, eyes, cheeks, nose, jaw, lips and mouth.

We will discover how rope can frame, conceal, reveal and transform the face, creating living portraits shaped by line, sensation and human presence.

Face rope can be delicate, intimate, playful, unsettling, beautiful or grotesque. A single line can redirect our attention, alter an expression or completely transform how we perceive the person before us.

Rather than reproducing a predetermined mask, we will observe the individual face and allow each portrait to emerge from its unique features, expressions and responses.

We will work with different approaches to face, head and mouth rope, exploring how lines can travel around and across the face while respecting the anatomy and function of each area.

Mouth rope introduces another expressive and sensory dimension. It can frame or conceal the mouth, alter speech, invite sound or silence, and create experiences of vulnerability, exposure, objectification and surrender.

We will also investigate how face and mouth rope change communication. When facial expression, vision or speech is altered, breath, sound, gaze, movement and non-verbal signals acquire new importance.

Following the philosophy of Tiger Nawa Ryū, we teach concepts rather than patterns.

The aim is not to reproduce one face tie, but to understand how rope interacts with identity, expression, sensation and composition so that every rope portrait can emerge from the face and moment in front of us.

WE WILL EXPLORE

• Observing the face and head before placing any rope
• Relevant anatomy and areas requiring particular care
• Selecting appropriate rope lengths, diameters and textures
• Hygiene and the use of dedicated face and mouth ropes
• Risk-aware placement, pressure and tension
• Creating stable connections without excessive compression
• Working around the forehead, crown, cheekbones, jaw, ears, lips and mouth
• Keeping the eyes, nose, airway and front of the neck protected
• Framing, dividing, revealing and concealing the face
• Symmetry, asymmetry and irregular composition
• Creating masks, cages, lines and sculptural forms
• Augmenting, abstracting and transforming facial features
• The relationship between face rope and hair
• External mouth wraps and different approaches to mouth rope
• Rope gags and bit-style mouth rope
• Framing, opening, covering and transforming the mouth
• Silence, sound, speech and altered expression
• Drooling, exposure and objectification
• Protecting the teeth, gums, lips and jaw
• Connecting face rope to safe, independent body ties
• Sensory stimulation and controlled sensory restriction
• Communication when facial expression, vision or speech is affected
• Establishing and testing verbal and non-verbal signals before tying
• The rope bottom’s breath, expression and embodied response
• Intimacy, vulnerability, exposure and transformation
• Creating rope portraits for scenes, performance and photography
• Progressive release and observing how the face re-emerges
• Adapting every exploration to the individual face and body

Once the fundamental principles are understood, the lab will open into creative experimentation.

What changes when a line crosses the face?

How can rope conceal without erasing the person beneath it?

When does ornament become a mask?

What happens when the mouth can no longer communicate in its usual way?

How can expression continue when part of the face is hidden?

Can the rope reveal something that was not visible before?

Our goal is not only to teach face ties.

Our goal is to teach you how to create living rope portraits through identity, sensation, expression and connection.

SKILL LEVEL

Intermediate

To participate successfully, you should have completed Beginner Rope Foundations 1 and Shibari Kinbaku Rope Foundations 2, or have an equivalent level of experience.

Participants should already be comfortable with:

• Single and Double Column Ties
• Lark’s Head and Hon Musubi / Square Knot
• Forward and Reverse Tension
• Structural frictions and stable rope connections
• Maintaining and recovering rope tension
• Adapting rope placement and tension to an individual body
• Clear communication, consent practices, body checks and stop signals

No suspension experience is required.

This is a floor-based workshop. Face, head and mouth rope will not be used as load-bearing structures or suspension points.

ATTENDANCE

👤 Solo: Welcome for self-tiers

👥 Partner: Recommended

🔄 Partner matching: Whenever possible

💡 Suitable for: Partnered Rope & Self-Tying

This workshop can be attended with a partner or approached through self-tying.

Partnered work allows participants to explore how rope changes the experience and perception of another person’s face through touch, gaze, expression, sound and communication.

Attending with your own partner is recommended if you wish to explore the more intimate, vulnerable or psychologically charged aspects of face and mouth rope.

Self-tyers are equally welcome to investigate their own face as a sculptural and expressive territory.

Self-tying exercises must remain visible, accessible and within each participant’s existing experience. Self-tyers will not be expected to restrict their own vision, speech, breathing or ability to release the rope.

Mouth-rope exercises that affect speech or introduce a gagging element will be explored only through partnered work.

Solo participants may work independently and will be paired whenever possible for exercises requiring a partner. Partner matching cannot be guaranteed.

DURATION

This is a four-hour workshop, including a short break.

WHAT TO WEAR

Wear whatever allows you to feel comfortable and express yourself.

Face rope may alter hair, makeup and facial styling. You are welcome to arrive with or without makeup, but please be aware that rope may smudge or remove it.

Glasses will normally need to be removed during practical exercises.

Facial jewellery, piercings, hair accessories, dental appliances and hearing devices will be considered individually before rope is placed. Please bring any cases or containers needed to store them safely.

WHAT TO BRING

• 2–4 ropes of approximately 4–8 metres
• Smaller rope lengths if available
• Rope reserved specifically for clean face work
• A separate personal rope for any exercise involving the inside of the mouth
• Safety shears or another appropriate rope-cutting tool — required
• A small mirror
• Water and any personal comfort or aftercare items
• Optional notebook

Because face rope may come into contact with the mouth, nose, eyes, saliva, makeup or facial products, ropes must be kept clearly identifiable.

Any rope entering the mouth is personal and must never be shared with another participant.

Please keep face and mouth ropes separate from ropes used for crotch, genital or other fluid-related play.

If you are uncertain whether your ropes are suitable, please message us in advance.

SAFETY & ADAPTATION

The face and head contain delicate structures, concentrated nerves, blood vessels, sensory organs and vulnerable areas that require particular attention.

Pressure that feels minor elsewhere on the body can become intense or harmful when applied to the face.

We will work progressively and monitor pressure, sensation, skin response, vision, hearing, jaw comfort, swallowing, breathing and communication throughout every exercise.

Rope will not place direct pressure on the eyes, obstruct the nose or airway, compress the front of the neck or place harmful pressure on the jaw, teeth, gums, lips or ears.

Face, head and mouth rope will remain non-load-bearing throughout the workshop.

There will be no suspension from face, head, hair, mouth or neck rope.

Mouth rope may affect speech, swallowing and the management of saliva. It must never be used when the person cannot breathe comfortably through the nose, feels nauseated or is unable to communicate distress through the signals previously agreed.

A person wearing mouth rope must never be left unattended.

If vision or speech is affected, this will be negotiated in advance and introduced gradually. A clear non-verbal stop signal must be established and tested before the exercise begins.

Any unexpected pain, numbness, tingling, visual disturbance, dizziness, nausea, coughing, retching, breathing difficulty, panic or change in consciousness requires the exercise to stop and the rope to be removed immediately.

Participants may decline or adapt any exercise involving the eyes, mouth, hair, makeup, facial contact, drooling or sensory restriction.

The face carries powerful personal, cultural and emotional meanings. Consent will therefore include not only physical placement but also questions of identity, exposure, photography, objectification and how each participant wishes to be seen.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Face rope can create powerful portraits, but being photographed in identifiable face bondage requires explicit consent.

No participant may photograph or film another person without their clear permission.

Consent to participate in the workshop does not imply consent to photography, publication or social-media use.

Where photography is negotiated, we will consider framing, identity, privacy and how the image may be used before it is created.

IMPORTANT NOTES

• All studio activities are guided by our Code of Conduct, prioritising consent, respect and inclusion.
• This is a sober workshop.

REFUND POLICY

Booking fees are non-refundable.

The ticket cost, minus booking fees, is refundable up to 7 days before the event.

Within 7 days of the event, tickets are non-refundable. If you can no longer attend, please contact us as soon as possible so that we can try to help resell your place.

If Ropejam Studio cancels the event, ticket holders will be contacted with refund or rescheduling options.

ADDRESS

Ropejam Studio
Unit 2
7 Fountayne Road
London N15 4QL

⚠️ Please make sure you travel to Fountayne Road, N15, NOT Fountayne Road in N16.

HOW TO FIND US

Enter through the courtyard at number 7. The metal and glass courtyard door is open.

Go inside and follow the corridor on your right. Unit 2 is the second door on the right.

There is no need to ring or message when you arrive.

TRANSPORT

Victoria Line

• Seven Sisters — use the High Road / buses exit
• Tottenham Hale

Overground

• South Tottenham — Suffragette Line
• Seven Sisters — Weaver Line

The studio is approximately 10–13 minutes’ walk from these stations.

Stansted Express

• Liverpool Street → Tottenham Hale: approximately 15 minutes
• Stansted Airport → Tottenham Hale: approximately 36 minutes

PLEASE ARRIVE ON TIME

Please arrive 10–15 minutes before the workshop begins.

If you get lost, please WhatsApp or call 07772 955 639.

Your punctuality helps everyone begin the learning journey together.

Unconditional Rope Love 🖤🪢