Who is... Lily Doll?
Ah, "the Doll." Two words so impersonal that
they, along with "it," seem like insults to Lily-Doll, who has a definite warm, shy, and innocent personality that dominates her darker, more impulsive aspects. (Lily-Doll isn't her name; that is how Elisabeth referred to her and I kept using it to differentiate between the character, the Muse, and the Doll.) For the last four years she's become quite well-known internationally through interviews, articles, books, and several forums, much to her embarrassment, I might add. I wouldn't be surprised if more people will be coming here for her photos than for info on the book, even though they know of her associated novel (because I rarely fail to mention it LOL). But here's part of her story:
Early in 2004 Realdoll constructed an exact duplicate of Lily Godwin cast in silicone, modified with multiple design choices that I'd carefully picked through their countless options. On April 1st she finally arrived, and she turned out absolutely beautiful. (An interesting sidenote: In the novel, Lily is equated with The Fool tarot card, and she arrived right on April Fool's Day!)
It's a breathtaking moment opening the crate and seeing the product of your fantasy and imagination and Realdoll's workmanship and artistry there before you. As is customary among doll owners (of all types) I took pictures of the uncrating and I'll be sharing them in the Photo Album , space permitting. Needless to say, I was stunned by her beauty. She really captures Lily's quieter, more contemplative sides. The downside is that in the novel her face is quite animated, and a relatively expressionless doll doesn't do her justice in that regard at all.
Initially I wanted her for the cover model for UNBOUND and for promotional photoshoots for the novel. Anything else would be gravy, I thought. Unfortunately, at around 100 pounds they are rather unwieldy and rather fragile, and range-of-movement too restrictive for the posing purposes I had in mind for UNBOUND's cover. There are several very high quality doll photographers around who may be able to help with advice though, so I still hope to use her. More info and stories will come later when I add a page for Realdoll.
The Not-So-Artificial Companion
So, what has Lily Doll done for me? Aside from making people aware of her book, existing as Lily Godwin's physical presence, being a highly-therapeutic Love-Doll, and serving as a receptacle for my Muse, she also was sort of a "ticket" into the lifesized doll world. Yes, I know it's scary to some of you but sorry, can't relate to that at all. It'll be over quickly (but not too).
Her photos were discovered by photographer Elena Dorfman , who was compiling a book on the subject, and also co-creating another book with an editor of the French magazine Marie-Claire, Elisabeth Alexandre. Together they flew from Paris out to the Pacific Northwest to interview me and shoot Lily over the course of three days (they were also conducting others for their books on this trip, not just us). Aside from this enjoyable experience and adventure (i.e.: exterior shoots with Lily), the exposure also led to eight or nine interviews with online and newstand mags all over the world, using the opportunity to not only tell about the novel but also to help bring comfort to those sufferers of loneliness and alone-ness by bringing this beneficent remedy yet taboo subject out into the open.
I'd discovered for myself that these dolls are so lifelike and have such a presence that they easily give the illusion of companionship, which the beholder may utilize as any fantasy he or she wishes for, to whatever depth. The dolls proved their worth in this and other ways to me firsthand. Of course, no one imagines that a doll is a replacement (as such) for a talking, moving, and breathing woman, but that really should be obvious. However, I'll save the in-depth discussions for another time; it's a heavy subject at times due to people's narrow-mindedness and lack of imagination.
Let's just say that it's very easy to imagine Lily Godwin standing or sitting around the house. On one hand she's just a giant sized action figure; on the other, the extreme I prefer, she is imbued with limitless spirit, personality, and history through fantasy, imagination, and the story devices. She is an absolute delight; a plaything of the highest order and quality. She may not be alive, but she sure is Real.
On the whole, people who mock this hobby are too stupid to realize this possibility, focusing instead only on their most obvious use and ignoring the more clever, fantastic, and magical ones. Some people are as afraid of using their imaginations as much as they are afraid of dolls. Weird. Guess we're even LOL
By the way, don't believe everything you read from alarmists who bemoan ACs. In short, they do not replace real persons, they are not demeaning to women, and just know that pretty much any media article, documentary, or movie will likely be slanted toward extremism, sensationalism, and misanthropy. That's what sells, and if you think that's a cynical view, it's not. This is a large reason as to why doll-owners are marginalized and shun publicity. Who wants to be tarred with THAT brush? I see it all the time (and why I've limited my interviews and now turn down most of them).
"Since the beginning of human history dolls have served as symbolic selves, as icons for religious fervor, effigies that represent different sides of the psyche, as surrogates in therapy sessions, as child's play and adult fantasy. They are the vehicles of our cultural imagination, proxies we animate with our ideas and ideals."
( from "Still Lovers", by Elena Dorfman with text by Elisabeth Alexandre, 2005)
Elisabeth's book, in which she gave Lily and I a nine-page chapter with Elena's photos, is entitled "Des poupees et des hommes, Enqute sur l'amour artificiel." But it's in French, so I haven't read it. By the way, these books are for mature, grown up, adult, non-judgmental persons. Squeamish or hung-up need not apply.
So yet another aspect of Lily Godwin manifested within the silicone confines of this Realdoll. Whenever I look at her, I always see Lily, never just a doll. She's as exact as possible; body type, facial shape, and features. Her eyes I had custom-made by Guy-Louis XIV Mannequins who duplicated their cobalt blue color perfectly with the highest of quality. They're so realistic that at times they (and she) seem alive; oftentimes out of the corner of my own eye it's seemed as if they moved and she's just looked right back as if nothing happened. The same for her eyebrows; Guy also created her natural-hair brows, and more than a few times when looking at her it seemed that her eyebrow raised *just a bit*! Combined with her expectant/passive expression she does seem quite inscrutable at times. Appropo for a Muse, I guess...
When I was doing my first revisions, I had her sitting near my writing table, and it was indescribably comforting. They really have to be seen to be believed; people who I've shown her to usually lose their composure somewhat and seem a little awestruck, intimidated, intrigued. And no, I'm not embarassed, ashamed, or regretful in the least. "Careful" is more like it. This is a complex subject that can be dealt with another time in the Dolls section; it's usually a hot topic.
Through several forums (names witheld to keep rubes to a minimum) I've been able to promote this novel in -well, novel, ways. Thanks to this lovely Doll, Lily Godwin's sweet character, and the Muse who helped form it, I have brought my character of Lily to life as best as she can have it, and as best as I can have it. Practically in three dimensions, too; first from dimension-less (?) imagination, then onto 2D paper, lastly into a 3D silicone body and "into the Sensual World." And when you read her story, she'll be livng in yours as well; don't worry, I'm sure you'll get along just fine :-)
I've put several photos of Lily-Doll up in the Photo Album ; I do enjoy sharing pictures of her. (And since she stays in character here, DON'T expect to see anything Lily wouldn't want you to see!) I ought to point out that doll-photography is very tricky, time-consuming, and difficult to get right: eyes, head position, hands, and countless other details can turn a good photo unusable. Eye contact is the critical element. Posing and balancing a hundred pound silicone doll is also problematic at times. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that my photography isn't that skilled; I do it for fun mainly and get lucky sometimes. Lately I've seen some awesome shoots and will try and share them later on. But if done right, just the angle of the eyes can turn a photo you might consider "creepy" into something you go "wooooowww" to! I guess that proves that it's all a matter of perception ;-)