Stitching wire into layers of encaustic wax, I explore a central question: What does it mean to hold together, to mend, and to endure? My practice is a tactile meditation on the human psyche, using materials that mirror our internal capacity to be fragile yet resilient, raw yet luminous. Based in the Columbia Gorge of Washington, I translate the intricate root systems and branching limbs of the surrounding forest into visual reflections of memory and emotion. The materials I use are essential to this concept. Beeswax and tree resin form an opaque, translucent, and visceral surface—a skin that protects but can also conceal. I embed and stitch wire into these layers, acting as a structural, linear intervention that repairs, binds, and holds the composition together. Metallic leaf is applied to signify moments of bright recovery, illumination, or a deliberate cover-up. Through this process of layering, fusing, and mending, I create work that serves as both a sanctuary and a mirror, translating the natural world into a visual language of human endurance.