We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Richie Rosen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Richie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the toughest things about progressing in your creative career is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?

One unexpected and rather frustrating problem that I have run into is that of my wax molds getting damaged during shipping to the foundry. It has been a real problem!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

There is a small ranch, or art studio, on the Llano River, in Art, Texas, and this is where my inspiration began. Art, Texas is located on Hwy 87 between Mason and Fredericksburg. During one of the many weekends I spent with Bill Worrell, or just “Worrell”, on the Llano River, is where he taught me the technique of Lost Wax casting.

Worrell, an acclaimed artist and sculptor, has art galleries in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Sedona, Arizona. Not only was he an Artist, but also a Minister, Poet, Author, Songwriter, Musician and at one time a College Art Professor. In between our discussions of a variety of topics, playing guitar, listening to music and on occasion sharing sips of Tequila with Mexican food from Santo’s Restaurant in Mason, Worrell taught me the Lost Wax casting technique for making jewelry. This is a technique for making jewelry whereby a duplicate metal (gold, silver, bronze) sculpture is created starting with a wax sculpture.

A sculpture is created out of wax. This is then placed in an investing slurry and allowed to dry. Next, the vessel containing the dried, invested wax sculpture is placed in a kiln at roughly 1600 degrees F. The wax is burned out, or “lost”. leaving an identical investment mold. A molten metal is then infused into this investment mold by a variety of techniques such as vacuum casting or using a centrifuge.

In 2018, a Saguaro Cactus and cowboy boot were my first attempts at casting bolo ties. Not much imagination really. The following year, 2019, living in Lubbock, I realized May 2020 would be the 50th Anniversary of the devastating F5 Tornado that tore through Lubbock on May 11th, 1970. This was my motivation to cast bolo ties using a tornado theme, thus “The Lubbock Tornado” was created.

The first 2 Tornado Bolos I cast were the Classic and Contemporary Tornado. These were cast using sterling silver, and salvaged copper that was used in the construction of The Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts in Lubbock, Texas, which was built along the path of the 1970 Tornado.

I next cast 5 abstract styles of Tornado Bolo’s, F-1 thru F-5. “F” refers to the Fujita nomenclature used to categorize tornado intensity based on damage caused to man made structures and vegetation. More recently, I’ve cast 3 new Tornado designs, and am working on 3 Bolos with a Rattlesnake theme. The tips of these snake bolos were cast using molds made of actual West Texas rattlesnake rattles.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I had no real goal in mind, I just knew I wanted to try to venture from the daily analytical path I’d been on since college. Thus far, I’ve come to accept the fact that periods of creativity will come and go. Although I do not consider myself an artist, I suspect the creativity issue is to be expected with any form of art. Last year I designed and cast a unique Tornado Bolo tie at the request of the owner and Chef of an acclaimed downtown Lubbock restaurant, The Nicolett, exclusively for the waitstaff and bartenders.

I live in Lubbock, Texas and am quite happy here. The growth and development of downtown Lubbock was set back years as a result of the 1970 tornado. However, during the last several years, the downtown area has started to make a comeback with new businesses and developments. It’s good to see this happening. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of my bolo ties is donated to projects dedicated to the development and revitalization of downtown Lubbock.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I really can’t say there have been any specific books, videos or essays that have impacted my thinking or philosophy. It was just a desire to pursue another course. Going back to being analytical, this new direction has been most impacted by people, such as Worrell. I have crossed paths with several artists and musicians who have taught me to view the world through a more creative, rather than analytical perspective.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.TheLubbockTornado.com
• Instagram: TheLubbockTornado

Image Credits
Dylan Lowery