New Project - "Come Play with Me" *title still on the drawing board*

So these are some of the first test shots to a new project currently being called "Come Play with Me". How do I begin to talk about it? is a question I often face when a new project arrises since new ideas tend to evolve quickly in the beginning in a very short time. Perhaps I'll begin by the beginning...in a land far away :) called the University of Houston. No but really.

It all began last semester, after learning about a photographer who would gather and keep things in his backyard only to much later know how to use them. Afterwards, I was walking around the UH campus and I passed by a tree with branches sprouting out in a V, with a nest in the space between the two branches...I then thought of a student who made miniature furniture out of twigs for a class project...which brought my mind to a box in my closet full of miniature dollhouse furniture that was just stacked away gathering dust. I almost threw it out but I knew it would come to use someday , just didnt know how. Then it hit me. I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to take the little furniture, place them in trees where birds would build nests and by roots of trees and then leave the furniture there to give pedestrians a surreal experience on a monotonous day.

Afterwards, when school began, I spoke to a professor and we talked about imagination, playing pretend, the definition of home, and stories of elves and gnomes - basically fictional creatures that live in the woods...and how they would use the furniture and what they would make with it with even a minute of wondering what would an elf make? We also touched upon Buddhist philosophy of coexisting with nature and the question of - do I want to lead my viewers somewhere, or do I want to let them wander where their minds want to go.

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Yesterday's thoughts during test shots:

I want to leave an open door my viewers' minds to "play" while viewing my images.

I want to invite their imaginations to run free and play pretend with me

...to maybe make their own stories of what kinds of creatures are living around the furniture at the roots of these trees, in between the clovers and leaves

We forget how to play pretend when we grow up.

Now is your opportunity to do so.

* I think it's important for me to keep things simple on this project.

I feel that the "Less is More" philosophy is a must

otherwise I'll be force feeding the audience.

I'll be feeding them too much.

I feel more would make this project cheesy and more would take away from the magic and "mystical-ness" of the images.

Ambiguity is the key most of the time so if I dont give the viewer everything, they will have room to add their own things... which would make my intention successful (of inviting/allowing the viewer to play pretend / let their imaginations bloom and create stories/things)