Page 90 - Southern Oregon Magazine Summer 2022

feature | art tour

CROOKED MILE GALLERY
“There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile…” The
nursery rhyme has long held fascination for Alison Fairbanks, co-
owner of Crooked Mile Gallery in Phoenix, a reminder that life
is not a straight road. She knew the theme would play a part in
the gallery she and her partner, Paul Kay, planned. After the Almeda
fire, they reconsidered their project, but knew that art is an essential
part of the rebuilding. Immediate needs must be met, but the soul also
needs replenishing. They have created a space where people can “hang
out with art.”

Crooked Mile offers a space for new, underrepresented artists, mostly
local, a few from other regions. Fairbanks wants people to study and
consider each piece. “Art is a bit of expanding your comfort, your
thoughts, your emotions. If you don’t like a piece, ask yourself why.
That question is the beginning of the discussion.” They are currently
showing 22 fine artists (painting, sculpture), and about 25 maker artists.

The actual gallery represents rebirth. Kay, owner of Phoenix Industrial
Studios, crafted many of the foundations, incorporating burned, bro-
ken, and bent materials from the ruins of an onsite maintenance shop.
Materials include charred timbers (milled for reuse), burnt steel, shat-
tered glass, reclaimed lumber. The process speaks of resilience, of the
crooked mile of life, of determination.

Crooked Mile plans future fire sculpture showings.

GALLERIE KARON

Twenty years ago, Karen Wasser opened Gallerie Karon in Ashland’s
historic railroad district. Two moves later, they’ve settled in a new loca-
tion, East Main Street at Second in downtown Ashland. The gallery’s
emphasis is African and Asian, and also houses antiques, artifacts, jew-
elry, and furniture. Karen loves her “menagerie,” a collection of realistic
stuffed animals, ranging in size from four-inch baby chicks to life-sized
cheetahs, snow leopards, and a recently acquired tiger.

As a child, she was enthralled with creating window displays in her dad-
built miniature department stores, which eventually led to her being an
artist and interior designer. She is pleased that the gallery’s new home
with its corner location offers two windows for displays. Peeking in,
you can see art and her animals.

Karen is proud to have been voted among the top five favorite galleries
in Southern Oregon, and favorite place to spend First Friday Artwalk.
She works hard to create a magical space and expresses gratitude for
her can’t-live-without assistant, Sarah Bronson. The gallery currently
features 30 artists and recently featured a showing of poets who do
other forms of writing and painting, as well as photography.

Gallerie Karon is open every day but Sunday and Monday at their new
location.

88 www.southernoregonmagazine.com | summer 2022