Ono’s Home By Prairie Stuart-Wolff

Posted on May 22, 2014 within News

A portrait of place

Ono is petit. She emerges with a giant umbrella to shield me against the rain. As I thank her for her time and hand her a small cake, her cheeks swell and her eyes are lost to her smile. Ono doesn’t understand why I’m here. “It’s such a run-down house,” she says. I don’t entirely understand it either. But there’s something I can’t shake, something inherently intriguing about this space. I want to explore it more, examine its dark corners, and pass a little time inside its shell. Ono’s home doesn’t fit any category of typically revered architecture or design. It isn’t vast, airy, and modern. Nor is it the minka, renovated mill, or warehouse of our dreams. It’s standard issue post-war housing. The window glass is textured in various patterns. The faux wood linoleum floors are dangerously springy. Wiring runs along the surface of walls. Doors are hollow and light. And yet, out of what many would quickly dismiss, Ono has coaxed, carved, and
constructed a compelling experience of space.

Take a tour around Ono’s home.

By Prairie Stuart-Wolff

This is the third in a continuing series of featured articles authored by Prairie Stuart-Wolff from her online publication Cultivated Days.