We were lucky to catch up with Rocky Pardo recently and have shared our conversation below.

Rocky, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I grew up loving art and creating art everywhere I went. My love for jewelry also came at an early age. I would accompany my mom to our local jewelry store as a kid with my mom and see Roger Rimel’s work and profess: “THAT is what I want to do.” It wasn’t until started playing with metal in 2006 and instantly fell in love with the material that I realized precious metal could be my medium. After obtaining a BFA in Metalsmithing in 2014, I worked as a bench jeweler at that very same store. It was a few years into working there that I realized I wanted to do the creative part of this job full time. I honed my fine jewelry skills and became obsessed with adding a little gold dust to everything. I loved the structure and quality of work tied to working at a jewelry store, but also missed the freedom of pursuing my creativity at any given moment. Thus, Rocky Pardo Jewelry was established in 2016 in my home studio and I never looked back. I was fortunate enough to recently complete the build of an enormous new studio and it is where I work today, sprinkling gold dust on everything and producing each piece by hand.

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

I was born in Spain, grew up in the United States, and have lived half a life in each. I found and loved art for its ability to be a common language among my two cultures. My works are miniature wearable homages to my split root in both the Midwest and Spain. The sky was what always brought my two worlds together, thus the sky is a common underlying motif in my work. Working with precious metal allows me to capture the power of my experiences and create works of art that can be carried and worn on one’s person, no matter where they travel. Rocky Pardo Jewelry is a handcrafted collection of high-quality, mixed precious metal art jewelry. I create my pieces with an emphasis on silver, gold, and the creation of my own precious metal alloys. I use a variety of techniques including fusing, keum boo, hand fabrication, forming, alloying, reticulation, soldering, and stone setting to manipulate metal into tiny shiny works of wearable art. My designs are driven by the desire to strike a balance between the rough and refined to create effortlessly elegant pieces that are comfortable and easy to wear. I seek to create work that can lie balanced between the aesthetic of raw and polished, dainty and durable, minimal and intricate. Duality of these opposites is the visual and ideological rhetoric in my work.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I love the sparkle that I can bring into someone’s life with my work. Especially with my bespoke “jewelry box makeover” pieces. When I can turn a precious family heirloom into a work of art jewelry that the client with actually wear and enjoy my heart is full. Melting down old gold and using the gemstones is a part of what I do that I feel both honored and humbled to do. I get to hold all of this sentiment and specialness and transform it into something even more powerful. That’s magical!

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

To live a full life. We recently moved to the country and I’m slowly realizing childhood dreams of having horses, room to roam, and beautiful surroundings. My passion is to make the world a more beautiful place and my art is only one facet of that. I try to make time to engage in my local community, volunteer for causes that matter to me, play with animals (which is as therapeutic to me as gardening), and explore in the woods. By adding beauty to my surroundings, both in my home and my community, I enjoy a richer and fuller life. I’m so grateful to have a job that gives me the freedom to pursue all of my passions.

Contact Info:

• Website: rockypardo.com
• Instagram: @rockypardo
• Facebook: @rockypardojewelry
• Other: My studio is open by appointment (or luck!) to anyone in the STL-Metro East area or anyone willing to travel. Reach out to me at [email protected] to set get information on availability.