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253 ½ Xenia Ave. | 937-767-7373 | ysnews.com/subscribe Serving the Yellow Springs community as the paper of record with journalism anchored in integrity, accountability and transparency. Independent and locallyowned since 1880 . Subscribe to the Yellow Springs News . 52 2O24–2O2 5 GU I D E to Y E L LOW S P R I NG S Help us help your library. To join, send $10 plus any donation you’d like to make to: Yellow Springs LibraryAssociation P.O. Box 554 • Yellow Springs, OH 45387 Find out about YSLA literacy grants available through the YSCF, visit yscf.org/literacy-grants. 937-352-4003 • www.greenelibrary.info Join theYSLA . different areas and bring all those elements [together],” she said. “That’s a way for me to sort a love of literature, lan- guage, visual [art] — all of that culminated into a forum.” She added that there is per- sonal importance in the tactile nature of her work. “I honor that fine texture: I wash the linen and then let it dry, but never press it to make it neat, and I try to retain the subtle picture to catch shad- ows,” she said. Making the village a home Orimo immigrated to the U.S. in the 1980s. Originally, she had planned to travel for two years before heading back to Tokyo, but decided to go to the U.S. first to learn English. Living between two languages, Japanese and English, is a run- ning theme in Orimo’s work, she said. “Maybe because English is my second language, no matter how much I study, the language stays pretty abstract still. And then my Japanese language is becom- ing more abstract because I’m being away from it. It’s a very interesting space that I’m aware of,” she said. “There’s a gap between what’s happen- ing inside my head and what’s being expressed. And so, as a result, you become mute.” Orimo said another theme of her work is what she terms “slippage.,” which she described as “points of dis- junction, interrupted conti - nuity of land and time, the fragility of connection.” “Physical, political, or cultural, we become sen- sors,” she said, reading from a previously written statement about the particular theme. “Sensors are as the antenna, the sensors experience the slippage as a shifted sense of equilibrium, trying to regain balance.” Orimo said she wound up in Ohio because of her aunt, Ikuko “Iko” Wright, who was a chef and one of the co- founders of The Winds Café, though originally the local stop was only supposed to be a pitstop on the way to Europe. She noted the prevalence of Japanese tourists in the 1980s, as well as the stereotypes that followed. “Hanging the camera [around the neck] — that was kind of a laughing joke about Japanese tourists,” she said. “I was not interested in that sort of postcard tourism, but I was interested in staying someplace to really experience the seasons, and the whole life cycle.” Towards the end of her Ohio trip, Orimo met her future husband, Tony Dallas, but was unsure at first how she could stay in the country. “I was not allowed to extend my visa because I already was here for one year. I was going to leave for Europe anyway, but at that point, I wanted to prolong my stay so that we could have that relationship,” Orimo said. At first, Orimo said, she was against the idea of marrying anyone. “I’d already declared that I’m not going to marry, or I’m not going to have a child,” she said. “I wasn’t really a believer [in] a wedding dress and institu - tional marriage because I was not that person.” But getting married turned out to be a way to prolong Orimo’s stay. “We got married, and we are still married after 40 years,” Orimo said. ♦ THE VILLAGE MEDIATION PROGRAM OF YELLOW SPRINGS MEDIATION IS A PLACE FOR... Addressing conflict Productive conversation Making decisions Gaining clarity Saying what you need to say Working things out MANY PEOPLE USE MEDIATION... Neighbors Landlords & Tenants Separated parents Family members Young people Co-workers The Village Mediation Program assists organizations by providing facilitators for meetings, consultation on options for addressing a dispute or training in conflict resolution skills. CONTACT THE VILLAGE MEDIATION PROGRAM: 937-318-1542 • mediation@yso.com • www.yso.com/mediation Dedicated to providing peaceful and productive methods for addressing conflict to Village and Township residents for FREE . FOL LOW US ON FACEBOOK! FIND US EVERY SATURDAY 8 A.M.–NOON AT THE YELLOW SPRINGS FARMERS MARKET