Heartbreak in youth happens all the time. The tragedy of heartbreak isn’t isolated to a teenage couple’s breakup; it can also be felt through the lack of parental acceptance or the distancing of a lifelong friend. Tough to Bear embodies the varied possibilities of heartbreak and hurt through mixed media. The combination of traditional acrylic and innovative embroidered stitching places the bear at the center of the canvas to evoke the painful loss of love and the emptiness that remains when relationships fall apart. However, in the careful restitching, the bear is repaired. Even when heartbreak is a possibility, we should nurture our relationships because hurt can be mended.