The Artistic Journey

Mark Heffley turns retired climbing ropes into works of art.

There’s a certain irony to featuring Concord resident Mark Heffley in a department called “Master of Their Craft,” because the 41-year-old rock-climbing enthusiast is the first to admit he is still learning. The work, he says, is a constant evolution. Eight years ago, he launched his company, Second Ascent Designs, which showcases his brilliant creations fashioned from secondhand climbing ropes. Each unique piece, from beginning to end, is an adventure in design and dedicated craftwork.

Heffley grew up in southern Connecticut and attended Keene State College, where he graduated with a degree in health sciences in 2002. He then launched a career as a personnel trainer, setting up shop at the Boston Sports Club in Waltham, Massachusetts. Before long, Heffley discovered a new passion— rock climbing—which led to an awakening of his artistic side.

Inspired by his favorite pastime, theoretical concepts such as “the golden ratio” (an infinite number of 1.618), and the work of Nobel Laureate physicist and mathematician Roger Penrose and reality-bending graphic artist Maurits Cornelis “M.C.” Escher, Heffley immersed himself in his avocation, creating wildly colorful pieces. It soon became his vocation.

Heffley’s work ranges from small— wine racks, clocks, chessboards, planters and picture frames—to larger pieces, including chairs, wall hangings, coffee tables, quilts and the occasional birdbath. To date, he has recycled more than 8,000 meters, or roughly 5 miles, of climbing rope.

New Hampshire Home [NHH]: Tell me about your climbing, Mark. Is this a lifelong interest? Or did you come to it later?


Mark Heffley [MH]: While I was personal trainer, I met a rock climber, Bill Schifone. He said, “If you’re strong enough to do that exercise, you need to start rock climbing.” So, he brought me out rock climbing and introduced me to his climbing crew. He was my mentor and was about 15, 16 years older than me. He taught me the ropes and connected me into the world.

NHH: What were the origins of Second Ascent Designs? 


MH: Quite honestly, a sentimental token. I had been holding on to my first couple of ropes, and I wanted to do something with them. Everything I’d seen to that point was a woven rug. So, I just started playing around. I started with super glue, and after a very small amount of experimentation, I realized that super glue bonds the fabric of the rope, the nylon, in a millisecond. It stays in a wet form (prior to application), so I can do a whole bunch of work, put the piece together, and it stuck. And stuck quite robustly. After playing around with the simple spiral, I said, “I can do more with this.” And then I built a 42-inch birdbath.

NHH: You’re a personal trainer and a rock climber. Where did the artistic side come from? What was your inspiration? 


MH: I don’t fully know the answer to that. In high school, I took a shop class and really enjoyed that. And I took two pottery classes. I just love making things. I love to be attached to the product I created and the development of it. I probably went a really long time of not realizing the attachment that I took so much pride in. I didn’t experience that in my life until I started the experimentation of making something from holding on to this sentimental token, these ropes. The first things I’ve built, the rug and the birdbath, were based on small sculptures I made it in pottery class.

NHH: This happened during your time as personal trainer? 


MH: Yeah. After a little while, I begin to think, there is more to this. It started grabbing all my attention, and I stopped paying attention to my clients the way I should have been. I just got wrapped up in the next project to build.

NHH: Isn’t that a good definition of a passion? When everything else seems to melt away because you’re focusing on one thing? 


MH: That’s the perfect definition. I don’t get out to climb all that much, but it’s a passion of mine. I love the movement, I love climbing, I love being outdoors. But I get a bit of anxiety when I’m away from my work for too long. It can be a battle at times. The work is very tedious and very slow. I typically work seven days a week. I wouldn’t say I’m putting in an eight-hour day every day, but some are 12-hour days and some are five. But it is seven days a week, so on the average I’m definitely logging more than your typical 40-hour workweek.

NHH: Are you primarily, or entirely, self-taught? 


MH: YouTube taught me a bit of art history, and some of my projects came from me learning art history, finding some connections to other things. Most of it was: “I learned this skill. What do I do with it? Where am I going to go from here with that skill?” You can say I’m 90-plus percent self-taught.

NHH: How do your influences translate to a commercial venture? 


MH: I don’t know how they present as a commercial success. At this point, I really don’t know, because I keep struggling. I’ve tried to make it in the craft world. I make all sorts of knickknacks, from dog leads and coasters. I do gear racks and wine racks, all these things that are not large endeavors. These take time, but they’re reasonable enough that I can sell them. The fiber arts in general are known for time-intensive labor. And that’s definitely true for me. Nothing is easy. You have to do the calculations and charge enough to make $15 an hour. I’m no longer in the category where I can sell things for $20. And most things at craft shows sell for under $20. Going above that is a very hard thing to do.

NHH: How do you describe yourself? As an artist? A craftsman? 


MH: I’m a both an artist and craftsman. I think they’re one word. I don’t like the fact that many parts of the art world separate them. But I feel the direction I’m going puts me more on the pathway of the fine arts, creating the one-offs, the not to be re-created projects.

NHH: Do you see yourself along the lines of a commission artist, like a portrait artist? Is that ideally where you’d like to be? 


MH: I want to find a pathway in my work, something I can continue to pursue. So, if someone is giving me good ideas, I work with that person on the design. So far, I have not duplicated anything. Plus, there’s the fact that all my rope is 100% recycled; I don’t buy any of this stuff. So as far as colors go, I can’t duplicate anything. I could potentially take one of the chairs, if someone wanted two of them, I could make a second copy of the one I already made, but there would be some differences. I can make the two pieces relatively similar. Because everything is custom and handmade, they’re not going to be identical. If someone helps guide my direction because they want a specific thing, I’d be more than happy to work with that person.

NHH: Ideally, then, you might work with interior designers or interior architects? That kind of partnership? 


MH: Without question. I think it would be absolutely amazing to go in that direction.

NHH: If you’re creating pieces for someone’s home, do you focus on whether it’s fine art or functional art, such as a gear rack or a table or a set of coasters? Some of your pieces blur the line between the two, such as several of your chairs. How do you market yourself and Second Ascent Designs?


MH: I’m still in the process of formulating that. My chairs are often art as well as functional. Some of them aren’t the most comfortable things in the world. Some of them are. Like my hammock chair. It’s unbelievably comfortable.

NHH: That’s similar to a painting, isn’t it?


MH: Right. I see huge overlaps [with painting] in what I’m doing. I see all my pieces as functional and sculptural and fine art. All three. They’re colorful, which is inherent with the material I’m using, and then I’m just playing with all the different elements the rope offers.

NHH: I love the name of your business, Second Ascent Designs. It recognizes that all these ropes had a previous life. They have stories to tell. The ropes that you use, do they speak to you? 


MH: When the ropes are mine, that’s true. I definitely worked with several ropes that were personally mine. I’ve also worked with others, like [climbing legend] Chris Sharma’s ropes. They were sent to me from California. It was special knowing I had the opportunity to work with those ropes. I think the sentimentality is always there, because of the IKEA effect.

NHH: The IKEA effect? 


MH: There’s a certain sentimentality that comes with the furniture from IKEA. Why does something that you have to build yourself create such a strong connection with people? The clay ashtray that you built in third grade that looks horrible, quite honestly—why do you have that in your house? What’s the purpose of it? It has to do with the sentimentality of it. There’s a connection to it. There’s definitely a huge connection to the work and the creation of the work.

NHH: Climbing is a very spiritual sport. There is real Zen quality to it, with the concentration it requires and its mindbody connection. And then there’s the fact that these ropes are not just beautiful, but they’re also designed to save your life. Is that something that is infused in your work? 


MH: It’s definitely present. I hope I’m satisfying that concept in the work I’m presenting. But it’s also converted. Rockclimbing rope is made from nylon. I realized that nylon is plastic. So, there’s this environmental connection that is stronger in the work at this point in time.

NHH: So, there’s constant evolution? 


MH: Yeah, without question. Sometimes I’ll realize that it’s something that’s always been present in my work, but I just haven’t thought about it, and this current project is pushing me to think about it.

NHH: Where would you like to see yourself in a few years? 


MH: Hopefully international fame [laughing]. Isn’t that the goal for every artist, to have their work viewed by millions? My current project [an enormous quilt] is like any of my work: It’s just an evolution. I’m going to take every opportunity I can find, and that’s definitely a challenge.

NHH: Ultimately, would you like to see yourself as a functional artist who can either work on commission or sell your creations at other outlets? Like, for example, a Simon Pearce gallery? 


MH: Again, the goal is to just make it work. I’m working on the wine racks, the bottle openers and stuff like that. I’ll be pretty happy as long as I’m getting a few hours, four or five, to do my own thing. Because being hyper-repetitive, repeating things over and over again, would slowly eat away my soul. But as long as I have the ability to be creative to build and make things, that will work. Whatever keeps the bills being paid. NHH

RESOURCE

Second Ascent Designs • secondascentdesign.com