On the same trip that inspired the elder cactus, I looked up at another dyeing cactus and the way it was decaying reminded me of a spartan helmet. In this piece I wanted to depict the warrior side of death. The warrior caries out the will of the king. Death is an inevitable end to the realm and its the warriors job to surrender when the time comes. when we think of warriors we often think of the fight or forward momentum. But the warriors dichotomy is one of push and pull. A wise warrior knows when to retreat or surrender. Both fighting and surrender take strength.