How a former musician became the Mosaicist, creator of high-end pool designs
A mosaic is an ancient art form typically created by cementing stone or glass tiles to a wall or floor. It is closely associated with the Roman Empire, where decorative mosaics adorned the walls of wealthy homeowners or the ceilings and floors of public buildings.
Today, a Miami-based company – Mosaicist – has brought the art form back to life in the guise of decorating the pools of affluent clients like Larry Ellison of Oracle, and Arthur Blank, CEO of Home Depot. Their pools are two of some 300 projects around the country installed by Mosaicist and its CEO, Ray Corral, aka The Mosaicist.
With 175,000 followers on Instagram, Corral has ignited a new, viral interest in the design of pool floors, creating fantastic designs based on elements of a client’s home’s motifs, something for which they are willing to pay handsomely. Demand for his unique pools is so strong he has had to relocate a team of craftsmen from overseas.
“Acquiring the work visas was extremely challenging – years of red tape and political patience,” Corral says. “I had to strategize, play a government chess game. Everything was important, from application structure to political governments. When the environment was more immigration-friendly, we pushed forward for visas. When it wasn’t, I had to be patient until the opportunities opened again.” In the end he was able to recruit and relocate skilled craftsmen from Latin America, Brazil and even Europe, skills he says are no longer practiced by U.S. artisans.
For Corral, his success with Mosaicist is a far cry from where he was twenty-five years ago. At the time he was a musician, a percussionist for top acts for Universal Studios, and performances for years with Madonna, who discovered him in a South Beach, Miami nightclub called Bar Room.
“I was in the music industry as a performer and songwriter, and I was very successful in my own right,” says Corral, who continues to be a partner in one of the biggest recording studios in the southeastern USA, Miami-based Mecca Multi Media, Inc., also known as M3 Studios. “I worked with Madonna, and she was my claim to fame,” says Corral, and it was that connection which led to his first important commission as a mosaicist.
When Madonna radically cut her concert tours after having a child, Corral found himself mostly working as a musician at nightclubs, with time on his hands. Having been a visual artist when he was younger, he started dabbling again in drawing, painting, and creating small mosaics. “I grew a passion for mosaic art. I performed at night and made mosaics during the day, selling them in consignment stores. It didn’t bring in much money.”
Corral’s career as a mosaicist took a leap forward with a commission from one of Madonna’s associates, who hired him to install a large medallion floor mosaic in the entrance to his home. Next, the client wanted his pool done. “It took me forever to make the medallion – like three months – but then I ordered the glass tile [for the pool] from this Mexican company,” he says. “That’s when I said, ‘Hey, maybe I should start selling these mosaics for pools.’ So, I started to do some designs.”
He also took a deep dive into the ancient art of creating mosaics, traveling to Mexico to meet Luigi Scodeller, the great Italian master of mosaic art, for whom he apprenticed to learn the art of manufacturing and placing glass tiles. “Underwater applications have a very, very high risk of tile popping out and things like that, so it was a learning curve,” he says. “Things really took off after that, with my first big commission – for a swimming pool in Palo Alto, California, for a designer named Marilynn Berke,” Corral says. Word soon spread and Corral found himself booked months in advance – and in need of qualified craftsmen who could do the work.
“As business grew, I needed additional artisans – real masters to transform this ‘one-man show’ into a mosaic empire,” says Corral. “It wasn’t easy. I couldn’t find the craftsmanship that was needed within the U.S. So, I started scouting for the best mosaicists worldwide.” He then began a multi-year task of scouring Latin America and Europe, securing work visas for his crew. “Now, we have recruited the best,” says Corral, forming what amounts to the only U.S. company specializing in underwater mosaic art, delivered as turnkey projects.
Today Corral lives in a historic home in the Miami suburb of Coral Gables. His clients include a litany of business leaders and celebrities, including Gables entrepreneur Matthew Meehan. “What Ray and his team of artisans did was just incredible,” says Meehan. “Ray was able to design a custom one-off mosaic floor for our pool using inspiration from our historic home … A one-of-a-kind art mosaic.”
Corral has also become a local philanthropist, helping other aspiring artists with grants through a special fund established with the Coral Gables Community Foundation. “I give grants to individuals, rather than organizations. I give them to artists, real artists, a lot of whom work as volunteers and teachers. I just know what they are going through.” In the process, Corral has become involved with the city’s program of public art installations. “We understand the power of art to uplift spirits and unite a community, especially art in public places. It starts conversations and nurtures creativity… I want to help create a world where art is an inspiration.”
