Spotlight on Orthodontic Associates & Artist Vessela Brakalova
Mosaic artist Vessela Brakalova stands next to her piece “Blizzard It Was” at Orthodontic Associates.
If you want to brighten up your workspace and add a touch of beauty, installing a piece of visual art is never a bad idea. Incorporating local art into your space goes a step further by adding local character and colour, while connecting you to your surroundings.
Visitors to Orthodontic Associates on Hebron Way in St. John’s are greeted with a familiar feeling of home thanks to a piece that was recently installed from local visual artist Vessela Brakalova. Her hand-cut, stained glass mosaic, titled “Blizzard It Was,” calls to mind the province’s infamous weather, while bringing a sense of place to all those who walk through the doors. The piece, which Brakalova says took about two months to complete, was installed this past autumn.
Drs. Christa Oliver and Lisa McGrath say the decision to commission a piece by a local artist was an easy one. Having Brakalova's son as a patient, McGrath came to learn more about Brakalova's work and eventually attended one of her exhibits at The Rooms. She loved what she saw and it wasn’t long before she and her colleague approached Brakalova about creating an original work of art for their own space.
Exploding in hues of white, blue, grey, lime green, pink and purple, “Blizzard It Was” certainly catches the eye. Aside from being given direction as to the colour and size of the piece, Brakalova says she was given “all the creative freedom an artist can ask.” And both Oliver and McGrath couldn’t be more pleased with the result.
“If you see our office - we care a lot about aesthetics. And what we do is very aesthetic…so our space is important to us, and the colour palette was important to us,” Oliver says.
“Aesthetically, it’s just amazing,” McGrath says of the piece.
“It brings a bit of Newfoundland character to our space as well. It’s unbelievably beautiful...it draws the eye and we like that it has a Newfoundland touch."