A giant cat has been spotted in cities and towns across the United States.  Her name is Lilly the Cat.  In San Francisco, stunned sightseers saw her creeping down curvy Lombard Street.  In St. Louis, she stood victorious over the Gateway Arch.  In New York City, morning pedestrians found her blocking passage across the Brooklyn Bridge.  Was this colossal cat the result of some radiation experiment?  Did she come from outer space? 

Lilly speaks . . .

Meow.  Don’t be silly.  The truth is, I came from the Humane Society in St. Louis.  My owners, Gen Obata and his family, adopted me in 1999.  They knew right away I was destined to be a star.  Something about my natural-born ability to pose like a model and my euphoric expressions when I hear the crinkling of plastic.

Here’s how my meteoric rise to stardom began:  In 2001, Gen’s wife suggested he send a photograph of me to their daughters at summer camp.  Trying to be funny, Gen photographed me lying face-up, legs sprawled (my favorite position) and then combined that shot with a photo of the Gateway Arch.  The kids loved it.  And so did everyone else!  In fact, Gen got more comments about my photograph than any other one he had ever taken.  Gen started taking lots of photos of me and placing me in other scenes around St. Louis, for my first modeling series, “Lilly in St. Louis.”

Soon, Gen decided to insert me into settings from all over the United States.  After the family went to New York City for a wedding, Gen created the “Lilly in New York” series of notecards.  He created another series upon returning from a trip to San Francisco and another to New Orleans.  You get the picture (pardon the pun).  It’s a little unfair because they do all the traveling and I do all the work!  But I’m lazy so it all works out.

I guess I should tell you a little about Gen. He grew up in St. Louis and began drawing and painting as a young boy, and playing guitar as a teenager.  He earned degrees in studio art and architecture and married a friend since high school.  He worked for many years as an architect and did some teaching.  He also started playing in acoustic bands around St. Louis.  Two beautiful, brilliant daughters came along.  But it wasn’t until the family adopted me that his real artistic talent was put to good use.  Recently, Gen has been creating artist quilts, many of which include images of me.

Gen says the best part of creating the Lilly the Cat series is seeing and hearing the reactions of people who see my photograph for the first time.  You can always tell which is Gen’s table at an art fair because people are gathered around, laughing out loud.  Well, I think it’s time for a meal and a nap, and then another meal. 

Watch out for the giant cat . . .
    — Lilly the Cat

Further Resources:
Genobata.com
Genobata.etsy.com
Lilly’s Official Story
Lillythecat.blogspot.com
Genobataarts.blogspot.com

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