Beneath the Surface

Florida Artist Dazzles Homeowners with Underwater Artwork

A space often overlooked, literally, is now the centerpiece for dozens of southern landscapes. A talented Florida artist is getting a lot of attention and admiration for his elaborate art displays built within the landscapes around luxury homes. Ray Corral is a mosaicist. These craftsmen intricately place small, colorful glass pieces together to create large-scale surface designs, often used for floor and wall murals, stained glass windows and sculptures. Ray is dominating in one niche area: outdoor living spaces, predominately swimming pools. 

Ray’s design and build firm Mosaicist Inc. operates in Miami, Florida. The team of about eight artists and 15 installers use centuries-old techniques to create elaborate designs complimenting surrounding landscapes and architectures. They manage all aspects of a mosaic, including manufacturing and cutting custom glass material. Their projects cost anywhere from $50,000 to $250,000. 

“My company is one of the only ones in the United States that is set up to do design, manufacture and installation,” says Ray. “It is what makes us unique.”

Ray and the Mosaicist artists draw inspiration from their clients' taste and the look of the home. They also work alongside landscape architects who design the space above ground. The mosaics feature colors and pictures to compliment the pool’s surrounding environment—and shape and depth. Designers use a puzzle-like formula to determine how the pieces will all come together to create the larger image. Then the artists use small furnaces to smelt pure, porcelain-type glass by hand and hammer out shapes and sizes to fit the formula. These tactics are inspired by master mosaicist Luigi Scodeller, who studied at Sculoa di Mosaico Irene in Spilinbergo, Italy. He passed down experience from 50 years in the industry, along with techniques from centuries of artistic development. 

Mosaicist’s success doesn’t only come from dedication to tradition, but through a blend of old and new ideas. Ray is a digital marketing master, using Instagram to bring attention to the company and the industry. He switched to mostly digital marketing about three years ago after studying his clientele. He realized many are between 30 to 50 years old and do not respond to traditional marketing tools. Now, Ray uses photography, drone videography, popular music and creative graphics in his posts. He calls his Instagram feed his “catalog” or “directory.” 

“The old mosaic ads with classical music and beautiful gold backgrounds are not as efficient toward today’s clientele,” he explains. “We, at times, merge a relatable rap song with beautiful artwork and people love it. It continues getting us more exposure with a twist.”

Ray shares his work with more than 100,000 followers, getting thousands of views and likes on each post. 

Social media doesn’t just attract new clients, though. It sparks ideas. People are inspired by past designs on Mosaicist’s feed, and Ray uses this to develop ideas that meet a client’s project goals. 

“About 50 percent of my clients say they found my work on Instagram and loved the colors and look of the pool,” he says. “Then, we look through pictures on the feed to decide how elaborate they want to be and what colors and types of glass to use. It really helps get direction from the client and put pieces together.”

Mosaicist is continually growing, expanding services into other states and shipping materials to companies around the world. The work has been featured in celebrity homes, major corporate offices, world-class museums and even music videos with millions of views. It seems that the expert connection between old and new ideas will continue supporting Ray and his team, overall elevating the artistic aspects of outdoor landscaping.

Photo courtesy of ©Jimi Smith Photography

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Mosaicist
Email: info@mosaicist.com
Phone: (305)447–1977
www.mosaicist.com