sb: Mistress Matisse, It is certainly an honor to interview You.

MM: You are very welcome bruce.

sb: So tell me, How Were You Introduced To The Scene?

MM: I knew I was kinky since I was a child - I used to do terrible things to my dolls - and I was about nineteen when I realized that what I liked had a name - BDSM. I started reading personal ads in alternative newspapers and met a couple that were my first play partners.

sb: Wow those lucky dolls.:) Did You start submissive?

MM: I was submissive to the woman in the couple but we were both dominant over the man. I do switch occasionally with other female dominants in my private life, but never with clients.

sb: Wow that lucky man.:):) How Old Were You?

MM: I was twenty years old.

sb: Was there a personal experience that prompted You to reign Your Female superiority? You seem very Dominant now?

MM: I am not a Female Supremacist. I say, jokingly, that I am a Matisse Supremacist, but the fact is that I am an SM person. The SM community teaches you that both people in the Dominant/submissive relationship have value and should treated with respect, and that's a belief I hold very strongly. But I do not believe that all women are superior any more than I think all men are superior.

sb: Better not go to the OWK then.:) How many years experience do You have?

MM: I have been doing SM in my private life for my own pleasure for ten years. I have been a professional Dom for five.

sb: Did You train under someone?

MM: I was trained by many wonderful people in the SM community. I have always been very involved with the community, and I also have been going to many large leather conferences such as Living In Leather, The International Ms. Leather Contest, BlackRose - just to name a few. The workshops offered at such events were a great way to learn the art of SM. It was at events like these that I met talented and experienced people who taught me techniques and mentored me as I learned.

sb: Do You work with Women and couples?

MM: Yes - its one of my favorite things to do.

sb: Fascinating! Are there other professional Dominants that You admire?

MM: Mistress Midori of San Francisco - she is such a charismatic woman, a very talented top, and a smart business woman!

sb: Yes i have heard good things about Her.

MM: Yes She has a great reputation in the scene.

sb: Do You maintain a stable of personal slaves, and if so are there certain aspects You look for and what do You expect from a personal slave?

MM: I usually have one personal submissive at a time. I don't have a "stable" since they are people, not horses. And I do not call them slaves - my relationship with them, while I am dominant, is an affectionate relationship,
although not usually a sexual one. I don't feel that the word "slave" represents it accurately. I tend to refer to them as my "boy" or my "girl".

As far as what I expect - here is short quote from an article I have written called " Instructions for a Novice Bottom".

"I am a dominant top. I do not merely want your available body as a playground; I want your mind as well. That means when you bottom to me, you must be willing to submit yourself consciously to me, in your manner, your words and actions, and even your thoughts. It must be your foremost desire to please me and serve me. Being truly submissive means cultivating an attitude of selflessness. You must submerge your personal will to your top. Doing so means placing your trust in your top to protect you, care for you, and hold your interests at heart, even in times when it seems as if she is not."

sb: Very interesting article! What would get a personal slave dismissed?

MM: Dismissed...this is not a term I would use - its just not how I deal with the people who submit to me. I will say that I have had to sever relations with one of my former submissives because of her life decisions. It's a painful situation - and each situation is different.

sb: Do You also work with crossdressing and sissy slaves?

MM: No, that's not an area I have much interest in.

sb: Do You engage in public scenes?

MM: No, I do not do public scenes

sb: What can a new slave do to please You in his or her first visit?

MM: Be on time - not early, that's very inconvenient for the Mistress. Be able to communicate what you are looking for in a scene - I am a very good Domina, but I am not psychic!

sb: Do You enjoy having Your feet worshiped?

MM: Yes, my feet are quite sensitive and I enjoy having them kissed, massaged and worshiped.

sb: What are Your favorite types of scenes?

MM: I am rather sadistic, so I like physically heavier scenes, although I can play more gently with newbies.

sb: Is there any type of scene You do not do?

MM: I will not do scat/brown showers. I do not do permanent body modification - permanent piercing,
scarification, branding - until I know you well: meaning at least four sessions. I don't do strangulation or choking scenes. This is extremely dangerous. I will do very mild forms of breath control play. I do not do public play.

I will do long bondage scenes under some circumstances, but I will not do a session where I tie someone up and leave them alone for long periods. This is not a very safe thing to do. I don't do strictly voyeurism scenes - meaning that you cannot just come in and watch me dominate someone else.

sb: What equipment do You have?

MM: I have a 2000 square foot dungeon with three main rooms plus a sitting/reception room and full bathroom. It is my private domain, and it is a commercial space completely devoted to the art of BDSM. The Main Dungeon has eight major pieces of bondage furniture, including: a St. Andrews Cross, a bondage table, a spanking bench, a free-standing steel cage over six feet tall, overhead suspension apparatus, an all-fours bondage platform, and an extremely versatile, custom designed bondage chair.

The Second Dungeon has a puppy cage, a bondage rack, another suspension hoist, plus the very nasty Wooden Pony. The Medical Room is an entirely separate room, equipped with a genuine antique gynecological exam table with stirrups, a high tech surgical table that raises and lowers in every direction. There is also a wheelchair, an
emergency team's carrying board, IV holders, instrument trays and, of course, a variety of nasty medical instruments I have collected.

sb: What implements do You have?

MM: I have many different toys - dozens of whips and floggers and paddles, of course, but also canes, nipples clamps, ropes, cuffs and restraints, C&BT devices, gags and hoods, blindfolds, Tens Unit, PES Unit, ultra violet wand, electrical crank box, sounds, disposable catheters, enema bag, Wartenberg wheels...This is only a partial list. I am, in short, extremely well equipped - in every way.

sb: Wow! Very impressive! Do You have a trans-gender wardrobe?

MM: No - I have some lingerie that I dress up nasty boys in, but I do not do a lot of CD.

sb: Is phone training and postal available?

MM: No I am in-person only.

sb: Are double session, extended, overnight, or a submissive available?

MM: I will do up to three hour sessions IF I have met you before. I don't travel professionally and I do not do overnight sessions. Currently I do not have a submissive who does sessions with me.

sb: Do You travel?

MM: No

sb: Do You offer any videos for sale?

MM: Not yet, although I am thinking of making one this year.

sb: Great! Please let me know when it's out! How can a slave contact You to inquire about a session?

MM: Before you call me, go to my website and read over all the information. Nothing is more annoying to me than someone who goes to my site, sees a pretty picture of me and promptly calls me up to ask my all the questions that are answered on the site! It's a waste of my time - I spent time making the site as informative and easy to navigate as possible. Every general question is answered there. So go and read! Then email or phone me.

sb: If someone gave You 5 million dollars, what would You do with it?

MM: First I would throw a very large very kinky party and then I think I would spend time and money working to get private and consensual adult sexual behavior decriminalized in the US. Private, consensual BDSM is still
considered criminal behavior in many parts of the country and that needs to be changed.

sb: i couldn't agree more Mistress! Is there an active SM scene in Seattle?

MM: Yes, a very good one. We have the Wet Spot, a "sex-positive community center"that throws play parties every weekend, plus frequently workshops, nightclub fetish nights, kinky art events, BDSM authors readings - everything you can think of!

sb: Sounds cool! Do You play in Your personal life?

MM: I was an real SM person long before I was ever a pro domme. I got started doing SM in the first place because I loved it. I became a pro domme when I felt I had learned enough about SM to do it well, and safely, and when I felt I had something to share with my clients. I am a pro domme because I like it - I love that I get to do something for a living that makes me feel the most of myself! SM is not just an activity to me. Being an SM person is a large chunk of my identity.

I don't have to be swinging a whip to be an SM person - it is with me wherever I am and whatever I am doing. I believe deeply in the power and the magic that can happen between two people within the SM dynamic. And
most of the women I know who are pro doms are intelligent, powerful, true SM people. They are women who educate themselves about how to practice their craft skillfully and safely. They care about the scenes they create, and they understand that with power comes responsibility.

Frankly, it appalls me that there are also pro dommes who are not truly SM people, but who only become professional dommes to make money. So if someone does not play in their private life, then I would seriously question their fitness to be a pro dom. That may sound extreme, but people who are not SM people, who do not play in their private lives as well as their professional ones, usually do not have a real connection to SM. They just want money. And they rarely spend much time learning about how to do SM safely and skillfully.

I have met people like this, and I was disturbed by their ignorance about physical safety in SM, and by their lack of understanding about the emotional and psychological dynamics of BDSM. At best, that lack of understanding, that lack of connection with the magic of SM, means that such people usually provide stiff, indifferent sessions. The worst pro dommes are people who are consciously exploiting a client population that they have no absolutely respect for, as a group or as individuals. Either way, their ignorance can result in injury or even permanent physical damage. I have no respect for such people and in fact, I consider them callous predators on the DSM/Fetish/Kink community.

sb: Mistress Matisse, that is so true! i really enjoyed this interview and find You not only very beautiful but also very honest and forthright. Please tell all prospective slaves how You can be contacted for a session?

MM: Well at my website you will find a fact page that answers many of the questions you may have about Me.

My e-mail address is MstMatisse@aol.com. My telephone number is (206) 329-7328.

sb: Thank You very much Mistress and this really was an honor for Me. Your slaves are very lucky indeed!

MM: Thank You bruce. I really enjoyed it.