Who Was Your Most Influential Teacher or Artist?

Ladies and gentlemen, it's time once again for our monthly carnival o' blogs...

My most influential teacher was back in high school, which is where I took my first metalsmithing class. Mr. Anderson taught me the basics that I've faithfully put to use for more than two decades. He was influential in that I would otherwise have had little interest in metal work, as at the time I was more interested in painting and photography. His encouragement and sense of humor made trying a completely new medium less daunting. His high standards taught me that "good enough" when it came to care, precision and even safety was not good enough — that cutting corners was to be avoided, period. He always pushed his students to produce the great work he knew was within them, and he pushed me to challenge myself when it came to design, rather than take the simple or easy route that would result in a "lesser" piece.

Since after that time I have been primarily self-taught, it was an easy choice to say this man most influenced my jewelry. 

See what my fellow blogging jewelry artists have to say about their influences:

Tonya Davidson
Lorrene Davis
Tamra Gentry
Lora Hart
Tod Pardon