January 2008: “Gentry Magazine – People and Their Pets” January 2008
The San Francisco based magazine Gentry magazine covered an article of “People and their Pets” where Sonya Paz and her Maltese pup SAMi were featured. Interviewed by Emily Heitmann.
“It’s like naming a child” artist Sonya Paz says of the difficulty that came with naming her now one year old Maltese after a long thought process, Paz chose SAMi, which is an acronym for her and her husbands name (S.A.M.i), it has the lower case “i” because Paz felt I like it. It needed “a girly touch”.
And SAMi name in nature is as unique as her owners line of work. Paz, a pop, art contemporary painter is always looking for an inspiration, and Sami provides it in, in a colorful way. Whether it’s the pooches adorable, under-bite, or the way, her body wiggles when she plays with a toy, this artist likes to incorporate those elements into her paintings. “SAMi has brought a new sense of balance to my life and my art” Paz explains.
Add Paz’s expensive show room, an art gallery in Santa Clara to this balancing act, and SAMi is like a four-legged guru, which makes sense for a pooch whom Paz described as “the smartest dog I’ve ever met in my life”.
I’m such a workaholic,” she says with a sigh, and Sami has turned me into a big old softy. I love taking breaks and playing with her playtime includes walks to nearby parks, playing, fetch around the gallery and taking road trips to art shows.
But when playtime is over, it’s back to work. Sami serves as the official greeter of the gallery, providing help in guidance whatever she sees fit. “She has quite the fan base here” Paz says, “people visit the gallery just so that they can say hi to her” and SAMi jets from around one corner to the other, placing a toy gingerly at her owners, feet, and waiting her patiently to play. Paz is quick to add to the obvious assumption, Sami definitely has her run of the gallery and it seems that she has the run of Paz heart as well.
