Sally's Gift

Sally Patterson was the sister of Nancy Patterson Lamb and one of the three artists who worked in residence at Iron Mountain Stoneware while it was in existence and producing many pieces of stoneware for the kitchens and cooks of America.  Sally created many one-of-a-kind pieces which were beautiful and in the case of one which recently sold on Ebay, told a sometimes personal story about her life or that of her family.  This 14 inch platter was highly decorated and in the private collection of Nancy--so beautiful! According to Nancy's description, the platter illustrated "our family having a picnic in the back yard on a warm summer day." Note that in 1983 when the piece was created, it had a $400.00 price tag still adhered to the backside.

Scene from a family picnic

Signature, date and price

close up of the artist's detail

Merry Christmas Plates

The series of Christmas Plates, started in 1983, were a different design each year, and according to Nancy Pattern Lamb, they were usually painted by her, since each edition was limited. The back of the the blue and gray 6 inch plate, which appears to be inspired by Martha's Flowers, has the "M" signature that belongs to the artist, Mary Greer Suits . It bears the hand painted date 1985 on the back as well. The second Merry Christmas plate is the same size as the first and mimics the Over the Hills pattern of stoneware, but appears to have been done by Nancy Patterson Lamb as her initial is on the backside.
There were also "Happy Day" plates created in a variety of patterns.  The "M" which is often seen on the back of the hand-painted plates was Mary's initial.  There were various messages written on the plates--"Happy Birthday," "Happy Anniversary," "I Love You," "Thank You," "Congratulations, and "Happy Mother's Day."  Sometimes the plates had a personalized message painted on them too.

Merry Christmas, 1985

Merry Christmas, 1984

The Solid Cherry Inspiration

12" Chop Plate in a local collection 

When Nancy Patterson was asked about inspiration for the pattern, Solid Cherry, she smiled and told the following. I created this pattern because I remembered always going into antique stores and hearing the same statement from any of the dealers or salesmen no matter what type of wood their furniture was constructed from--"That's solid cherry Madam--solid cherry."  This pattern features ladderback chairs, round tables and sometimes a bowl holding cherries sitting on the top of the table.

Commemorative Plates

Closer view of plate center

11" Commemorative Plate

I am beginning to find a few commemorative plates both in antique shops and on the Internet. This image came from an online shop called Violettendenices.
According to Nancy Patterson Lamb, these special plates were created at the same time as Martha's Flowers for the American Bi-centennial year in 1976.  The 8 different Revolutionary images created on 11" dinner plates were called "Countrymen" and were patterned after the children's fortune telling rhyme (who will I become or marry in the future) from Great Britain: "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor, Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief" The 12" platter and 14" platter had the soldier (George Washington) on them. Nancy described the images as being modeled with clay in three dimension. She then fired the models, inked the images with glaze onto them, and transferred those images to the stoneware.

Something New, Every Year

Everyday bowl from 1978

Nancy Patterson Lamb, former owner and creator of many of the patterns for Iron Mountain Stoneware created a new pattern each year for something which was called an Everyday Set.  This everyday set was limited in pieces and only included a plate (10"), a bowl, and a mug--just the three pieces with a different design every year.  The pattern was made for only one year and then a different pattern was brought forth each subsequent years. Each was different, yet of the two I've seen, they make lovely combinations when put together. The pieces of the stoneware had a design and a date on them to help identify them from one year to the next.

The Potter's Mark

 potter's mark

Extracted from the website: http://www.figurines-sculpture.com
In response to a person who had located some of Iron Mountain stoneware in a storage unit and was seeking information to identify the potter, Peter (the admin) from Figurines-Sculpture.com suggested the IMS mark as being "a contemporary with Van Briggle" due to a similarity in pottery marks. Later, Nancy Patterson Lamb responded with the following:

"I designed the mark with no knowledge or homage to former potters. The IMS (Iron Mountain Stoneware) mark meaning is this: the square represents the four elements a potter needs: earth, air, fire, and water. The inside triangle on a vertical post represents a potter's tool. And the post with the two "branches" represents "man" or the potter."

The NP with the flame symbol over the top signify that the FIRE and Nancy Patterson created the piece. 

Solids--Basic? or Bammm!

Basic Black 20 piece service for 4

There were five solid colors mentioned in the July 1988 price list for Iron Mountain's factory seconds store in Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee. (see the Solids page) Among those five was one called Basic Black. Other solid colors were possibly Freedom Blue (appears to be a bright blue solid, but I've seen only one coffee cup in this color so far), Ice (close to what I would describe as an extremely light celadon green), Evergreen (which was featured in a post on Feb. 13 and represents it's name well) and Peach Bloom (though at this point, I've not officially seen this color).  Recently while searching on the Internet, I discovered a vintage and antique web site called One Kings Lane which had a service of Basic Black for sale last August.  The sale was no longer available, but the image was--so I have brought it here for display information.  All of the stoneware shapes remain the same as we've come to expect from the remaining pieces of stoneware and all these Basic Black were truly a rich black, glossy glaze both inside and out.

Each One Different...

salad plates in Roan Mountain pattern

Each piece of Iron Mountain stoneware is a little different--as demonstrated by this photo. Having created each piece of the stoneware by 'hand' means that it was handled by the individual employees who worked with the stoneware during each phase of the production process. The stoneware shapes were created, and in the case of three early patterns (if not the first three patterns made) they were also eventually hand dipped into glazes before being fired in a kiln. Each time the plates were dipped in the same color, they were rotated to increase the amount of glaze which darkened the color. The early geometric patterns were Blue Ridge (blue and darker blue/black), White Top (tan and cream) and Roan Mountain (brown/rust and gold). The glazes were mixed by 'hand' as well--which also means there was room for variations despite using a similar or even an exact recipe each time the glaze was created. These three salad plates in the Roan Mountain pattern exhibit widely different color patterns.

The Seldom Seen Evergreen

Evergreen votive candleholders - 4"

Evergreen is seen as a mostly solid, rich green color with the inside of pieces, like these candleholders, being glazed in white. I have categorized this pattern as one of the 'solids' and will add information to that tab to show some of the different solid colors made by Iron Mountain Stoneware between the years they were in operation. These shapes have been called everything from wine glasses (in some antique listings) to votive candle holders to pillar candleholders. While I have seen very few of these pieces, they blend very nicely with the pattern called Whispering Pines as the greens are very close to the same color.

Celebrate with a Plate!

Unusual design on Christmas plate, 1972

Special pieces could be commissioned from Iron Mountain Stoneware to celebrate any occasion, birthday, anniversary or simply to say "thank you" to someone. These  pieces were in the  glazes of  the Martha's Flowers pieces or could be commissioned to be in any glazes of the customer's choosing. Sometimes the pieces contained the name and special date of the honored individual who would later receive the plate or other piece as a gift.  The The designs varied from piece to piece and sometimes these special pieces ,were limited-edition orders commissioned by banks, colleges, and other organizations, which they then sold.  Several of these can be found on both eBay and in local antique shops wherever the commissions ended up.

Custom Trivets

private collection of a friend

The artists who worked with Iron Mountain Stoneware created interesting, one-of-a-kind pieces as well as custom work for customers and pieces to sell through their outlet store in Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee.  Here is an example of a hot plate or trivet with a custom painted image from a historic building in Pennsylvania.  Nancy remembers painting some trivets for a customer who sent her some images of stone houses or buildings in the area there.  The trivet had a simple IMS potter's mark on the back written with a pencil and a paper, stick-on price tag (imprinted with the words Iron Mountain Stoneware) for $15.00.

In the Beginning...

Martha's Flowers pitcher

I've had a strong attraction to Iron Mountain Stoneware since the 1970s.  While I would visit the local stoneware factory at least once each year for my Iron Mountain 'fix', I usually came away without much to show for it. I would walk up and down the aisles of stoneware and literally imagine owning some of the many beautifully decorated and glazed plates, bowls, and platters and then leave, just as I had arrived, empty-handed. I had such appreciation for the quality of the work, the swirls of the glazing brushes, and the down-home feel of the people who worked there at the factory.