Gendy AlimurungHolly Vesecky is a floral stylist and sculptor based here in Los Angeles. In the time that I've known her, she's done volcanos covered in flowers, a geodesic dome covered in flowers, and a re-creation of a Sam Francis painting in LACMA in flowers.
Quite by accident, I saw this cat covered in succulents over at Heather Taylor's lovely gardening blog LA in Bloom. Only later did I learn it was by Holly.
Hey, I didn't know you ran a floral design business. How long have you been doing that?
Started the buisness three years ago and just took on a partner 3 months ago, she (Rebecca Uchtman) did most of the cat.
Were you already doing it before the flower geodesic dome at Machine?
I've been a florist for 19 years. I was still working at another florist when we did the dome. I quit soon after.
Anyway, I wanted to ask you about the Succulent Cat. What was it for?
We did the cat for a wedding at Marvimon. The bride felt there wasnt enough whimsy in her wedding so she suggested making a succulent cat to represent her cat at the reception. We knew she was expecting something more along the lines of the Jeff Hoons dog in europe but we wanted to take it a step further, and then Becky took it another step further all together.
What kinds of succulents did you use on it?
Sedium burrito for the v-neck sweater boarder, echivaria for the furry neck, hawarthia stone succulents for the tail, blue echiveria for the feet, a fuzzy kalonchoe for the most of the fur, square sedium for the eyes.
How did you come up with the idea? (If you were the one who came up with it)
The bride came up with the idea but we embellished.
Do the plants continue to grow on the cat, or did they eventually die?
It's not a Chia pet. We hot-glued just the leaves to a stone garden statue. You could take the leaves off and plant them and they would continue to grow.
Where did the cat base come from?
We searched far and wide for a cat large enough and had thought about having my sculpter husband build one from scratch but lucked out a week before and found the cat in an energy healer-type knick-knack store in Ojai.
How much would you charge someone for a cat concoction like that?
$500
Have you made other succulent cats? Or flower cats? Or weed cats? Or moss cats?
No other cats. This town is dog obsessed. We've made a lot of dog collars for weddings. I've made floral birds, volcanos, islands, butterflies, ice cream sundays, you name it.
What kind of plants did you put on the eyes?
All succulents.
Did you use any catnip?
Cute, but it wouldnt last the night.
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