This week in NUVU, my partner and I worked on constructing the first iteration of our project. To do so though, we had to eliminate some of our project ideas and single it to just one of which was the air plant butterfly. The air plant butterfly is a butterfly statue that serves the purpose of recycling rainwater, providing a space for plants to grow, and water for dogs to drink. The rainwater is taken in through the leaves, which have a bucket collecting the water, up the post and to the plexiglass wings through a piping system ultimately reaching the air plants. The recycled rainwater is also saved for dogs to drink, this occurs by the leaves collecting the rainwater and then there will be a pressure plate sensing when a dog is near which signals the leaf to bend down supplying water for the dog. The leaf with raise back up once the dog is finished to reduce the risk of harmful organisms entering the water. Our first iteration was made with cardboard, hot glue, saran wrap, a metal rod, a wood block, card stock, plants, an arced pipe, crafting foam, and tape. We made the wings out of saran wrap, cardboard, and hot glue and the body out of rolled up cardstock. While applying the wings to the body with hot glue, we ran into the problem of the hot glue melting the saran wrap. To fix this, we glued the cardboard to the cardstock roll and to secure the wings, we wired fishing line through them, attaching them to the body.  The post was a metal rod and the platform was a wooden block. To connect the body of the butterfly to the metal rod, we used a piece of pipe that was angled so we could glue our butterfly at a diagonal angle. In order to put the metal rod into the block of wood, we had to drill a hole halfway through the block and hot glue the rod it for security. Lastly, we made the leaves out of green crafting foam and cut them into shapes resembling those of leaves. 

     This week, we also received a critique from the people in our studio. A positive piece of feedback we received is that our project incorporated a common culture in it with the idea of the butterfly which is shown in many spots of Lakeland. Another positive piece of feedback that we received was the way it mimics a butterfly with its wings as well as a flower with the leaves and butterfly protruding out of the "stem" which is the post. Overall, many liked the design aspect of the project. Among these positive pieces of feedback, we also received some constructive criticism. Some questions we were asked were to do with the recycling of water, such as "What if it does not rain for a few days?" and "Where is the water stored when that happens?". To fix this problem we could encounter, we would have a constant flow and circulation of water to preserve the water during the dry days of the month. We were also asked if air plants are able to grow in Florida's climate. To answer this, air plants are very versatile in the conditions they grow and thrive in, all they need is air, water, and sun which the climate in Florida can offer. We had some suggestions towards our project such as incorporating a mister to provide more water to the plants when it is dry. We were also suggested to implement nutrients for the pants within the center or the body of the butterfly.