The Birth. Day. Series paintings are focused on the notion of celebration within the African American community. Birthday Il. lt is meant to evoke memories of childhood and its freedoms. Two sisters, Carrie and Michelle decorate a birthday cake with a sense of delight. There is an adult hand there to both give freedoms but rein in when needed. I wanted the idea of our celebration spaces and our thriving to include the geography of farmlands and wide open spaces. Black communities still raise children there and are blessed by their proximity to ancestral foundations.