Sallach brings some color to RO’s downtown square

Nick Johansen
The Red Oak Express

Planter boxes on the Red Oak downtown square are starting to get a colorful overhaul.
The downtown planter painting project, which is being done through the Red Oak Arts Destination group, got underway in early August. Hoskinson said ROAD has been getting submissions from local artists of all ages and suggestions from others.
“We started the project with the planter at the intersection of Third and Coolbaugh as it is the most visible for those entering the downtown business district from the west. The design was submitted by graduating Red Oak High School senior Gannon Sallach,” Hoskinson said
 The project began with cleaning the exterior of the planter box and then a special commercial primer for concrete. The base background colors were applied and the layers of detail began on Aug. 6 by artists Gannon Sallach, Brinkly Sallach and Ashley Schmid, with Jim Hoskinson assisting. Hoskinson is a co-project director with Phillip Lamb.
Sallach, who graduated from Red Oak High School earlier this year, said he’s always had a passion for art, though he’s only recently expanded into painting.
“I’ve always loved to draw, sketch, and paint, if I feel like it. I do a lot of digital work as well, so I’ve always enjoyed drawing stuff,” Sallach said.
Sallach said he was a bit surprised when he discovered his artistic design was the first one chosen by ROAD.
“I saw the post on Facebook, and I thought it would be a cool opportunity to have some fun and make a little design. When they later reached out to me and said they had selected my design, I decided that I was really going to dive into it and really go for it,” commented Sallach.
Sallach wanted his design to have a historical significance to Red Oak and researched online and at various businesses and organizations around the town to find a theme that was a key part of Red Oak’s past.
“I came across the original name of the town, which was Red Oak Junction, and because of the railroads that had come in to town, the city really expanded because of that, so I wanted the  main focal point of the design to be railroad tracks, in order to tie back to the town’s history,” Sallach explained.
To help add color and brightness to the design, Sallach said he researched flowers from the area.
“I found that the area had the prairie rose, and the cornflower, and other colorful flowers, so I added them to the design and painted them in order to contrast from the grays and the browns of the railroad tracks,” Sallach said.
Sallach added that he’s had lots of support, including help from his family, to get the planter box painted.
“Jim Hoskinson has been helping me basically through the entire thing, and my sister, Brinkly Sallach and her friend, Ashley Schmid, both came down and helped out for a couple of days. If it was just me and Jim working on it, it would be taking a lot longer, so he and I both appreciated that help,” stated Sallach.
On a personal level, Sallach said it has meant a lot for his artwork and painting to be endorsed not only by the ROAR group, but the Red Oak City Council as well, since the council gave approval for the painting to proceed.
“I’ve been struggling because I wanted to be an artist, but I’ve never quite had that motivational thing that has made me want to go all-in and go for it. This project has really motivated me to get that going,” Sallach said. “I just put up a website that has a lot of my artwork on it, and I’m working with some friends to do digital designs for them, and really diving into that artistic side of me that I’ve been hesitant to go after. It’s very special to me that this project is going to be displayed in the public where everyone can see it, and that I’m going to be able to leave my mark here, since I’ve lived here all my life. This is the beginning of my journey. I’m going to grow from this and not forget where I came from.”
Sallach is attending the Univeristy of Iowa in the fall, and while he’s not majoring in art at this point, he hasn’t ruled it out.
“I’m majoring in music and vocal performance, and cinema. I really love every aspect of arts and entertainment. While it’s the direction I’m going, I’m not really set on those two majors. Wherever my college journey leads me, I may end up in graphic design or other art program, but for right now, I’m just exploring and feeling out what I want to do for sure,” Sallach commented.
Sallach said he’ll be leaving Red Oak soon to begin his college journey, and the art project has been an excellent end to his summer, and has given him a very special memory.
“I came to the University of Iowa on Aug. 13 to move into college for orientation stuff, so being able to work on this project and spend some good, quality time with my sister before I leave for college and don’t see her for awhile really means a lot, and I’m glad to have been able to do it,” advised Sallach.
Currently, The Third and Coolbaugh Street planter box is the only one being painted, but Sallach said there are many others that are waiting budding artists to improve.
“There are eight planter boxes in total, and they are looking for seven more designs. If anyone is looking to have a project, I would suggest they check out the Five One 8 website at thefiveone8.com/road, and you can read about the project and send in your submissions. Also, people can donate to the project,” said Sallach. “Since this is a community and volunteer project, a lot of the funding is coming from donations from the community, which are very appreciated. If someone doesn’t want to paint, but wants to aid the project, that’s a great way they can help.”  
Sallach said if artwork is in progress on the other planter boxes while he’s visiting Red Oak from college, he’ll be glad to help paint the other boxes.
To see some of Sallach’s other artwork, his website is gannonsallachstudio.com.

(Photos courtesy of Jim Hoskinson)