Seattle-based soft sculptor, Candy Cortez, has been processing memory through the use of textiles in her artwork. Candy is a woman living with mental illness, expressing the human experience with her healing journey through fabric manipulation. She has found community online through creating this type of work, connecting and sharing experiences with other artists across the world living with mental illness. By doing so, Candy has also become a catalyst for social change and wellness in her community. Themes of growth, transformation, and restoration are prevalent and of high importance in her work, in hopes that highlighting the healing journey will help encourage those living with mental illness to seek support of their own.