WILMA EMLING - SCULPTURED NEEDLEWORK
Article written for CACE by Larry Backus
My wife met Wilma Emling a few years ago when she admired her exquisite pins and dolls at a Fairfield Glade Craft Fair. She purchased a number of hand-made pins planning to give some as gifts. Whenever she wore one of the pins, friends and strangers alike would invariably make comments such as, "What a beautiful and unique pin, where could I get one like it?" Her friends were delighted with their gifts and called to relate similar experiences of people admiring their gift. This scenario has been repeated many times as each year she buys more items for gifts or to coordinate with an outfit. A recent addition to Emling’s growing collection of artistic but functional items is her neck pocket. The neck pocket is on a uniquely decorated necklace the size of a credit card. The reaction of ladies when my wife wears her neck pockets is the same as Emling’s pins. If these reactions occur based on Emling’s craftsmanship, you can imagine the value of her dolls, which may be described more accurately as fiber art figurines.
Years of hard work, practical experience, and learning from world-class doll makers is behind the superb craftsmanship and artistry that is demonstrated in Wilma Emling’s creations. Emling initially learned fabric design from her mother and operated a dress and bridal shop in Caro, Michigan for ten years. However, Emling had an interest in creating dolls, specifically soft dolls. They are descendants of stocking dolls or rag dolls that have been the most popular of all home-made dolls and trace their history more than 2000 years to Egypt. They are the earliest dolls of America dating to the early 1700s.
In 1991 Emling took her first class in fiber art doll making from a modern icon of the art, elinor peace bailey, and yes, that is the way elinor writes her name. Bailey was instrumental in reviving this craft during the 20th Century and imbuing it with a level of artistry never seen before.
Continuing her education Emling completed classes at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg titled "Figurative Expressions in Cloth" and added study with Akira Blount of Bybee, TN. Today, dolls by Akira Blount sell in the range of $600 to more tan $1,000. Emling’s artistic doll making has been featured twice in the publication Soft Dolls & Animals, in Contemporary Doll Collector, and in Lifestyle 2005-Cumberland County.
Emling’s home studio has that cluttered feeling you might expect of an artist due to the myriad fabrics, feathers, buttons, beads, and more, much more, that go into her creations. But you can be sure Emling knows where to find everything she needs. With the dedicated support of her husband, Ron, Emling pursues her considerable creative talent in fiber art with a passion, with break time for swimming, reading and listening to music.
Wilma Emling has been an active ingredient in the growth of Cumberland Artisans for Creative Expression (CACE) since its inception. This September will mark the third consecutive year Emling has coordinated the artistic applications for the CACE Exposition. Emling sees CACE as an organization of artisans who support each other and the many artisan groups in Cumberland County at all stages of their development and believes there is a bright future for CACE and its members.
