Hello, Janet,
The "M" signed on the bottom your mug, stands for Mary, who was the decorator.

Winterlight cups

On the bottom of your cups the letter "F" is for Fern, who decorated the cup. The "81" is for the year, 1981.

IN TRIBUTE

 Michelle Townsend Childress

          Michelle, founder and author of the Iron Mountain Stoneware blog, passed away of Friday, June 24, 2016 in Grayson Highlands State Park, at the age of 61.

         

         To honor Michelle, we - her friends and fellow collectors - will endeavor to continue what she has created. We are indebted to Michelle's husband and son for their assistance. We celebrate her life, and we treasure memories of time spent together.

Training to Make Stoneware

The items found in the photos here were all small animal sculptures (lamb, bear and duck) created by Vennia (Vennie) Cornett at Iron Mountain Stoneware in Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee between the years 1965 and 1968.  The pieces all are original one-of-a-kind pieces.  They were modeled by hand.
Venie was one of Iron Mountain's original forty-five trainees in 1965.  During a six week program the trainees worked with clay to learn its characteristics and limitations.  They modeled various animals, figures, birdhouses, and other forms from their imagination.  The objects were glazed and fired.
From this group the first sixteen employees were selected, and Vennie was included.  Her stoneware creations captured the interest of buyers, and Vennie continued to make the small sculptures in additon to her factory work.  The textured frog was made by  Desmal Johnson--another of the Iron Mountain employees.
The lamb is glazed in Ice, the duck is an early version of Pond Mountain, named Lichen, and the bear is glazed in Roan Mountain. The frog also appears to be in Roan Mountain.  Two of these sculptures, the lamb and bear, are being sold on eBay this week with a copy of a certificate of authenticity from Nancy Lamb.

Figurines - lamb, bear, frog, and duck

Note the IMS mark on all but one--the lamb

Rachel's Garden 'Married' Piece?

'Married' cup and vase piece

During the first group gathering of the Iron Mountain Stoneware fans this past December, one member brought an unusual piece which Nancy verified as Rachel's Garden.  The piece was 'married' (joining two pieces together to make a separate and different shape) from two other shapes being used by the stoneware company--an upside down candleholder and a lamp bottom. The glazing is beautiful on this one and it is very unusual.  Nancy was the only artist who did the glazing of this pattern due to its intricate design.  However there is no IMS stamp on the bottom--only the initial LD which stood for Iron Mountain employee, Lila Dunn,  and the numbers 88. If you are curious about the separate shapes, check out the pricelist tab on the blog to see the silhouette of the lamp, #2000.

Side view os 'married' vase

Bottom markings on vase

Ladder Back Pattern

Recently, a new pattern showed up on eBay for sale.  The owner had 32 pieces which included dinner plates, a platter, salad plates, coffee cups, and soup bowls.  Nancy Patterson contacted the seller on eBay to clarify the pattern name - Ladder Back.  When contacted privately Nancy said she only made a few pieces of this pattern and it was used in advertising for the Henredon furniture manufacturer, located in North Carolina.  Nancy went on to say that the furniture company used these sets as tabletop displays and magazine photo ads.  It was never created for sale, but only as a furniture sales promotion.  It is rare, but when the 32 pieces listed for $500, there were no buyers interested.  The pieces were relisted for $400.

Dinner plate

Platter

 

A sample of the 32 pieces available on eBay

         

Sculpted Salt and Pepper Shakers Origin

Pond Mountain and Whispering Pines patterns

There have been several questions and comments about the creation of the sculpted salt and pepper shakers - one of the three different styles of shakers for the stoneware patterns. According to Nancy Lamb, in a recent conversation this summer, Jim Kaneko designed the sculptured salt and pepper shakers. These shakers depict a boy throwing a ball (pepper) to the girl (salt) with her arms outstretched to catch it.  Typically these shakers are the most expensive of the three available sets available for the patterns found in antique and collectible stores.