"HOW CAN YOU TAKE YOUR CLOTHES OFF IN FRONT OF ALL THOSE PEOPLE?!!  Parker McPhinney's video answers-How? When? Where? and most important of all, Why?"  ---Nancy Lilly, Model Coordinator, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California

"Wonderfully talented work!! It reveals the rarely seen interior landscape which gives us a profound insight into the human condition."  ---Henry Jaglom, Film Director, Hollywood, California

"Parker, Thanks for your prompt response to my order for your video. I am probably not your typical customer. I am neither an artist nor a model. I knew little or nothing about art models until I took a series of courses in classical music at the School of the Carnegie in Pittsburgh. I passed the studio where life drawing was taught on my way to and from the music classroom. The studio door was always open and I couldn't help seeing the model on the model stand. I've been wondering ever since who would model for these classes and why. While surfing the Internet one evening I came across your website. After reading about and seeing the trailer of your video I said this will satisfy my curiosity about models. Your video is great. Your questions brought out the full range of backgrounds, thoughts and experiences of the models. The range in age was also interesting. I wish you the very best of luck in your enterprise and hope that more non-artists like me who just like art find out about you. I will check your website from time to time to see if you have posted anything new." ---Bill Gernert, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania

"Parker McPhinney has eloquently expressed the sense of commitment, joys, hopes, frustrations, and anxieties, of her fellow artists' models in "Surrounded by Art". She gets her peers to bare their souls with humorous and sometimes harrowing accounts that relate to misconceptions about modeling and the degree of professionalism and dedication necessary to succeed in that field. All of this is conveyed in an appropriate cinema verite style consisting of unrehearsed interviews, mise-en-scene modeling sessions, and gallery sequences that show the aesthetic results of the models' and artists' efforts."  ---Tom Wilson, Assistant Professor of Graphic Arts, San Antonio College, San Antonio, Texas

"An engrossing look at that most classic of all muses, the artist's model..."  ---Walter Robinson, Artnet Magazine, New York

"Parker, I'm writing to say that I loved the video.  It was really interesting to hear models talk about what it's like for them.  Most of the figure models I've worked with have been rather impersonal.  I got the impression they prefer to maintain a separateness from the artist, almost as if getting to know them as people would make it more difficult for them to disrobe.  None of the people you interviewed quite expressed that attitude, though.  In fact, one mentioned she wished there was more interaction between artist and model.  I guess it varies:  each person has different feelings about the experience.  Anyway, thanks for making this available.  The artist's model's role is one that's a mystery outside the art community, and not discussed much even among artists.  Your work has helped me see them as coworkers and collaborators as opposed to a 'subject'. Thanks!"  ---Stuart Juengst, Artist, Atlanta, Georgia

"The artist and model are both the creative forces combining for good drawing, painting and sculpture.  Parker's beautiful documentary video focuses on the relationship between the two forces.  I love the differences between each of the models; and, as an artist, I feel that both are artists, contributing to the end result of long study, sometimes for years and years.  As you work with a model over a long period of time, you get to know more of the model and your drawing and your artistry with the model become one thought."  ---Cornelius Cole III, Drawing Instructor, California Institute of the Arts

"Parker, I just got your video, and I've watched it a couple of times now. I haven't had a chance to meet that many models, so it was really fascinating to hear from so many on such a variety of topics. Thank you so much for making this film. It has given me a new perspective on my "other" profession (I work as a PC technician/network administrator full-time). I think seeing this film and hearing from so many other models will only help me become a better model." ---Dan Hawkins, Hurst, Texas

"The Video helped to bring a level of understanding to the class. It helped to define the humanity of the models. It laid to rest a lot of the social stigma that is associated with the field."---Student, Glendale Community College

"After watching the video I came to an understanding of the hardships that these models encounter. It did an excellent job in introducing the audience to the person inside the body. I think everyone should see this video, anyone who is in life drawing classes, that is."---Student, Glendale Community College

"The film reminded me of early Warhol films."---Terence Kester, Los Angeles

"Parker tells a great story.  I felt I knew these people, and continued to think about them long after I experienced the video."  ---Barbara Nowak, Artist, San Antonio Texas

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