The Art of Ecstasy

Tabitha felt tingles throughout her body as she heard that. A wave of relaxation just swept through her and her body felt heavy against the recliner.

The lights began to dim and Emma spoke again some faint atonal music swelled slightly behind her voice. "You are here today to have a wonderful experience. An exploration of beauty. An exploration of ecstasy You will make art. And you will become art."

A small white dot appeared on the screen. Emma spoke. "I want you to look a the dot on the screen. Focus on it with all your concentration. Let everything else just fade away so that there is only the dot. Good."

It suddenly and clearly occurred to Tabitha that she, and everyone else in the room were about to be hypnotized, and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. She wondered how this tied into theme of the show and if it had been buried somewhere in the avalanche of documents she didn't read. She had thought the show was going to be about the history of sexuality in art, but now she suspected it might be something else. The word "interactive" suddenly stuck out at her. Was she going to be made to do something sexual? Tabitha knew that a hypnotized person couldn't be made to do something they didn't want to do. At least that's what she thought was supposed to happen. For a moment she thought about getting up. But it would be so embarrassing What would everyone else think? That she was afraid? Tabitha looked at the dot and thought to herself that maybe she'd just pretend to be hypnotized. She'd go through the motions but she'd stay conscious and aware. No one can be forced into hypnosis. Right? That was the plan. Just go through the motions and play along.

The theater lights dimmed all the way down, and Tabitha noticed her recliner was almost all the way back. Emma spoke again. "Now I want you to direct your conscious mind to your feet. Let your feet occupy the entirety of your mind. Feel how heavy they are and how relaxed they are against the recliner. Now I want you to breathe in...and when I tell you to breathe out, I want you to forget about your feet...just let them go while you stare lazily at the dot in front of you."

Tabitha followed her instructions. At the same time though she started a mantra in her head. "I am not hypnotized. I am not hypnotized."

As Tabitha breathed out she did notice that her feet did seem to fade away though. Well of course, they are on this soft recliner. It makes sense that she was no longer aware of them. Though she thought it odd that she felt so very tired, but also hyper-focused on Emma's voice. They wouldn't have drugged the water outside would they? No, that would be beyond unethical. She wondered what everyone else thought about this ambush hypnosis. Of course, maybe they had read through the documentation.

Emma continued. "You're doing very well. Now I want you to breathe in again. This time I want you to be aware of your legs and pelvis. Notice how they feel. Notice how heavy and relaxed they feel. And when you breathe in, I also want to close your heavy eyes. Your eyes are becoming very heavy, so tired from staring at the dot. Breathe in."

Tabitha breathed in and closed her eyes. It did feel good to close them. They were getting pretty tired and heavy from staring at the dot. She took note of her legs and pelvis. And her butt. Her ample butt felt real good in this chair. So relaxed.

Emma continued. "Now when you breathe out, I went you to forget about your legs and torso, just let them fade away and open your eyes and stare at the dot once again. You will find it hard to open your heavy eyes, but you will be able to do so to look at the dot again. Now breathe out."

Tabitha assured herself again she was not hypnotized, but she certainly agreed that she did not want to her open her eyes. She really would have much preferred to keep them closed as they did feel rather heavy. She reluctantly opened her eyes and stared at the white dot again. It seemed to pulse slightly, almost as a reward for being observed again. She also noticed that the entire lower half of her body seemed to be gone. Just melted away. Maybe being hypnotized wouldn't be so bad. Ms. Snowe is a respectable patron of the arts. She would never do anything unsavory. Right? Perhaps just flow with this. If things got wonky Tabitha could just snap out of it.

Emma spoke into her mind again. "On this next breath in, I want you to focus on your torso and your arms, be aware of them, be aware of how heavy they feel in the recliner. And I want you to all your heavy eyes to close. They feel so drowsy now, so sleepy. And in your mind's eye, I want you to picture the white dot. And breathe in."

Tabitha breathed in and let her eyes close. She could imagine the white dot quite clearly.

"Now as you are picturing that dot in your mind,"Emma continued. "I want you to change its color. Slowly change it from white to red. Red like a stop sign red. See it there, hovering. A red dot."

This was easy for Tabitha. She imagined it would probably easy for all these artists here.

"Now when you breathe out, I want you to open your eyes. Let your arms and torso melt away, and I want to you look at the dot on the screen. Use the power of your mind to see it as the same color as you see it in your mind right now."

This suggestion started Tabitha a bit. Could this really happen? What would it mean if she saw the dot as red?

"Breathe out, open your eyes and stare at the dot."

Tabitha didn't want to open her eyes. She was afraid. Afraid she'd see a red dot, which would mean--

But she felt her eyes opening, she couldn't stop them and it was just as feared. The white dot looked red to her. Which meant...she must be hypnotized.

Before she could process this any more there she heard a sharp finger snap.

"Sleep!"

Tabitha felt her eyes slam shut, completely on their own and felt her body just collapse into the recliner. Everything felt heavy and limp, her body, her mind. She couldn't even form thoughts. She couldn't even listen. She had a vague awareness that words were being spoken, but she couldn't hear them, she could only hear sounds but they sounded far away, like coming from a hidden speaker that was muffled by a pillow.

Her next coherent thought was the sound of a finger snap, followed by Emma's voice saying, "..and 5, open your eyes, still deeply hypnotized."

Tabitha felt life come back to her body. Her eyes opened and she was aware of how she felt and where she was. She was also aware that she had just been hypnotized and with that awareness was a mix of curiosity and excitement. For a moment it occurred to her that she should be angry, but for some reason she wasn't. The recliner was slowly adjusting back in to its upright position.

"Tabitha?" Emma's voice spoke to her.

"Yes Emma." Tabitha responded. Along with everyone else, almost completely in union.

"You are doing so well, and I am very pleased with you."

This made Tabitha feel good. It felt good to make Emma proud of her. Tabitha smiled.

"And now I think you will find it very pleasurable and right to remove your clothes, which have become very uncomfortable. Very constricting and unpleasant. You will feel very comfortable being naked with your friends. We will enjoy looking at your beautiful body and you will enjoy being observed by us. It will give you great pleasure."

Tabitha's mind raced. This was the break point. She thought about how a hypnotized person couldn't do something they didn't want to do. They would just wake up. And she wasn't even in hypnosis, right? She was awake. Wasn't she? She stood up and turned around to look at everyone else in the room. Sure enough they were all in the process of getting undressed. They didn't seem like mindless zombies to her. They were just doing it as naturally if they were home in their bedroom. It was at this point that Tabitha noticed that she was also taking off her clothes. She had unfastened the last button on her blouse and was slipping it off her shoulders. She tried to will her hands to stop, but they seemed to moving on their own. She tried harder to will her hands to stop, but she was met with a spike of anxiety. It felt like if she tried to stop herself from undressing something unspecifically bad would happen. It felt like leaving the house and wondering if the burner was off. Letting her hands undress her...it was like going back in and seeing that yes, the burner was indeed off. And when her blouse came off, it felt so good, so right, even pleasurable. She should keep going.

Now her hands were working the zipper on her skirt. Oh God, everyone would see her underwear. She had on pretty underwear that day and it was okay for everyone to see. In fact she was starting to come around to the idea that she wanted everyone to see her completely naked. And she wanted to see them naked too.

Holly was in the row behind her. She'd just finished stepping out of her slacks and she was neatly folding her clothes and putting them on her chair. She had a great looking ass. Very round and muscular. She must do squats, Tabitha thought. Holly turned back around and her arms hung loosely at her sides. She looked placid. Peaceful. Dreamy. She was looking right at Tabitha. Looking up and down her body. Tabitha admired her breasts; large and well formed with puffy suckable nipples. Her bush was neatly trimmed and pussy looked just a little puffy as well.

"I like your body," Tabitha said as she was removing her bra. She didn't know why she said it. It just felt natural.

Holly smiled and looked down at Tabitha. "Thank you," Holly said. "Your breasts are lovely. I'll bet they feel wonderful."

Tabitha finished undressing and placed her clothes neatly on her chair as Holly had. Everyone had finished undressing and were standing in front of their recliners; with relaxed-looking expressions. It appeared as if all the men had erections, but they seemed oblivious to that fact. Tabitha turned around and looked at the screen once more. She was hoping that Holly and the others would get a good look at her wonderful giant ass and appreciate it's proportion to her waist.

Emma spoke to her again. "Close your eyes Tabitha and relax. Let your head droop forward, let your eyes close and fall deeper into hypnosis for me." Tabitha and the rest of the group obeyed. The world went blank.

The next thing Tabitha knew, Emma was speaking to her again. But it was not through her headphones. It sounded like she was in the room. Right in front of her. She felt a familiar hand on her shoulder. "...and 5...and open your eyes for me, Tabitha."

Tabitha opened her eyes and lifted her head. Standing in front of her was the source of the voice. Emma Snowe herself. Other than her first encounter in the gallery, this was the first time she'd ever met her. She was beautiful. Tabitha had to look up at her to see her face. When she opened her eyes she was eye-level with her modest breasts. Emma thought it was strange that Emma was naked, but it made her feel more comfortable about her own nakedness.

Tabitha took in Emma. She was probably just under 5'10 and had the most gorgeous long shiny silver hair that made her look older than she probably was. Perhaps she was 40? Tabitha had seen pictures of her, but it was different seeing her in person. And in the nude. Tabitha looked down and noticed her pubic hair was also silvery. Tabitha laughed.

Emma found this humorous. "What's funny Tabitha?"

"Your pubes are silvery. I was wondering if you dye them." Tabitha was horrified at what was coming out of her mouth. What an undignified thing to say to anyone! Especially Ms. Snowe! But for some reason she felt okay about saying it.

"No, they just come in grey like that." Emma said. "I suppose if I were more vain I'd be concerned but I'm comfortable with how they are. What color is your pubic hair, Tabitha?"

Tabitha thought this was hilarious. Talking about pubic hair with Ms. Snowe. She snort laughed.

"I don't know. Regular color I guess. Why don't you check?"

Emma smiled. "Okay, I will."

Tabitha thought this was super funny. Emma knelt down to get a good look at Tabitha's pussy.

"You have a beautiful pussy.You look a little damp down here, Tabitha," Emma said. "Are you a bit aroused?"

Tabitha snorted again at this obvious question. "Duh!" she said. "I'm more than a bit aroused! I'm actually really horny! Everything....everything feels so good. I really, really want to touch my boobs!"

Emma stood back up. "Why don't you? I'd love to see you touch your breasts. I'd love to see what makes you feel good. Why don't we do it together?"

Emma took her hands and began to massage her own breasts. Tabitha watched in rapt attention and then mirrored her movements. She began to moan slightly has her hand caressed over herself.

"Doesn't that feel nice?" asked Emma.

"Oh yes," Tabitha moaned. "So nice, but I want to touch my pussy. I want to come! I need to come!"

Emma smiled, a little wickedly. "Yes that sounds it would be very pleasurable. But you can't touch your pussy yet. You can't come yet. Why don't you sit back down and we'll get you comfortable."

Emma guided Tabitha down to her seat. Her clothes were gone and there was a large towel covering the recliner. As Tabitha sat, Emma pressed the controls on the side and soon Tabitha was completely reclined. Her hands were still vigorously massaging her boobs. Emma put her hand on Tabitha's shoulder.

"Tabitha I need you to relax for me now, let your arms gently rest by your side."

Tabitha's arms moved off her breasts and rested by her sides.

"I want you to do a very sexy thing for me Tabitha. Will you do that for me?" asked Emma.

Tabitha squirmed. "Yes Emma."

"I like watching you masturbate in your sleep. It's very arousing and you look very sexy when you do it."

Emma reached down below Tabitha's seat and retrieved what looked to be a medical gas mask and placed it over Tabitha's mouth and nose. It was not connected to anything though, the other end was open.

"I'm placing a gas mask over you and in a moment I'm going to sedate you with a very special kind of gas. When you breathe it in, it will make you very sleepy and also very horny. You will find that you will be unable to stay awake, and when you are completely asleep, you will find that your hands will be able to masturbate you to a tremendous orgasm. Do you understand?"

"Yes Emma."

In Tabitha's ear pieces there was a faint hiss, like gas.

"I'm releasing the gas now. Feel it filling your lungs. Can you smell how sweet it is?"

Tabitha inhaled deeply. She could definitely smell the sweet gas. Like cotton candy.

"Now I want you to try to count backward from 10, but you'll find that the gas will render you completely asleep before you can reach 0. And when you fall asleep you will be free to masturbate and bring yourself release."

Tabitha began to count. She struggled to keep her eyes open as she spoke the numbers. "10....9....8......7.....6......." That was as far as she got before her eyes closed all the way.

Emma removed the mask from the face and looked down at her. She stepped to the side as not to block the view of the camera that was recording Tabitha.

Tabitha had no sooner fallen into a deep sleep, when her hands began to make their way down to her needy pussy. Absent-mindedly she began to rub and stroke all around. Her face showed the intense pleasure that coursing through her.

Like most of her sleeping masturbation sessions, there was a certain laziness about it. There was no rush, no mad dash to finish. Just a steady and rhythmic rubbing. After some time her face began to seize up. She was reaching her orgasm. Her hands moved faster and a contented moan came from her lips. Then her hands stopped their rubbing and fell to her side as she was completely satisfied.

Off to the side, Emma watched this demonstration with intense zeal as she masturbated herself. It was one thing to watch the videos that Tabitha had been unknowingly uploading to her for the past few months, but to see this performance in person. It was unbearable. Emma didn't think she would be so turned on, but seeing this, right before in the flesh, was too much, and she needed some relief. She was grateful there was no one else in theater but her and Tabitha. She wondered what the others were thinking as they watched this on the closed circuit display in the studio.

Emma brought herself to a shuddering climax, almost hyperventilating while looking at Tabitha's sleeping form. Emma thought about letting her sleep, but there was so much more to do. Emma pressed the recliner remote and it began to reset to upright. She put her hand on Tabitha's shoulder.

"When I count to 5 you will open your eyes, still deeply hypnotized. 1, 2,3,4...5."

Tabitha opened her eyes.

"How do you feel?" asked Emma.

"I feel wonderful, Emma."

Emma smiled. "I'm glad to hear it. Follow me an we will join the others."

Emma helped Tabitha out of her chair and lead her out of the theater. It was odd being naked in a place that was usually a social gathering. It was also odd following this naked woman around but it did not overly concern Tabitha.

They entered the main gallery. The walls were not covered with the usual master works but instead with art she recognized as being created from members of the group. But works she did not recognize. On her immediate left was a collection of Samual's sketches. However they weren't the usual female nudes. They were all self-portraits of Samual in various states of arousal and self-stimulation. The first sketch was a giant portrait of Samual staring blankly at the viewer. His penis was almost non-existent, just a bulbous head buried in a generous bush of dark pubic hair. His hands hung limply at his sides. Tabitha wondered if he was in a state of hypnosis in this pose.

Another side view showed his penis at its most rigid. It was still small, made smaller still by Samual's girth, but it had a certain aesthetic beauty to it. The circumcised head seemed to glisten and point defiantly against the rest of Samual's sagging flesh.

Another view showed Samual's hand wrapped around his penis and his face expressing what could be anguish or pleasure.

After Samual's exhibit was a larger collection of Augusta's work. It was an interesting contrast to Samual's. Augusta's seemed...less honest, more flowery. There was plenty of female genitalia but they were not connected to people. Just anonymous pelvises giving her work a semblance of soft-focus yet, clinical study. Perhaps that was the point of it. That people are just parts.

Past that was some of Tomo's work. His scrolls were usually long historical recreations of ancient Japan, but instead there was an enormous scroll of sex. Tabitha looked at it closely. It appeared to be someone's sexual history. Tabitha was pretty sure it was his. The main character that appeared throughout very strongly resembled him. It ran the gambit of comical to sensuous. Starting off with what have might have been his first embarrassing erection; it looks like he's at his school desk, then perhaps, his first wet dream, and then to some teen-age make out sessions. The scroll went on to depict Tomo's every sexual partner. So many women, a few men. Every position was covered, every act. It looks like there might have been a pregnancy and a subsequent abortion. At the end of the scroll it appeared to depict Tomo sleeping in one of the the theater recliners. He is naked and has an immense erection. Emma in in this portion. Large and looming over him, like a ghost. Whispering in his ear.

Tabitha looked across the room. She could see other works depicting Marcus, Willow and Holly, but they were too small and too far away to get a clearer view.

And then Tabitha stopped. She had a feeling what she might find her in the gallery given what she'd already gone through. It was her work. Her sleeping self-portraits that a mysterious patron had been buying. It was one thing to see her work in her home. On an easel. But to see them here. Framed and hung in a gallery. It was overwhelming.