Episode 15: How to Make the Most of a Memory with Felicia Wheeler

Felicia Wheeler’s return to artmaking represents a significant transformation after years supporting others as an arts administrator.

She describes this transition using a clay metaphor - like dry clay becoming malleable again when submerged in water, her challenging period actually softened her to become "something better than what I previously was." Art has served as her sanctuary throughout life, including during the pandemic when a pivotal dream about her grandmother's home inspired her creative rebirth. Her current focus is beaded portraits of family photographs, particularly "Way Up There," a 10,000-bead peyote stitch piece recreating a childhood photo of herself at age five. This labor-intensive work, which took over 100 hours across three months, serves as both a promise to herself and a way to honor her inner child while exploring memory preservation.

We talk about her deep connection to her ancestors, whom she credits for her artistic gifts and occasionally argues with, once demanding "if you are going to give me a breakdown, you have to give me a breakthrough." She shares how her work centers on honoring the women in her predominantly female family, especially her single mother whose strength continues to inspire her. Felicia details her meticulous process for creating "Way Up There," including teaching herself beadwork techniques and restarting the piece multiple times. At one point, she spent seven hours undoing and redoing ten rows after discovering a color error. She worked daily from 5pm to midnight in what she called "Prime Time," proving to herself she could withstand the dedication required. Her artistic inspirations include mid-century aesthetics, thrifting, hand-thrown pottery, and the poetic beauty of nature. Looking ahead, Felicia reveals she's working on two more memory-preserving portraits: a 10,000-bead piece on a loom and a 22,500-bead work. Her long-term vision is to expand beyond immediate family photos to capture stories and images of relatives she's never met, while her dream project would be an immersive, multi-sensory outdoor exhibition that "would require a field trip" to experience.