18 Jan 2016

Drawings and Sketches

Here is a collection of my drawings and sketches over the past few years. 

graffiti, tattoo, drawings, sketches, art, design, commission,

Collection of other art work

After my Paintings and Drawings here is a collection of my other works

graffiti, urban art, spray paint, street art, commission, artist, art, design, stencil, banksy, shorty, installation, collage,

Some of my paintings!

I would like to come back and write in more detail about these pieces but here is a collection of my paintings over the years. 

paintings, artists, work for commission, paint, art work, controversial, questioning, skateboarding, experimental,

15 Oct 2014

MA Show... The Fragility Of Normality.

After 2 years of hard work, stress and deadlines my MA was finally coming to an end and although I am relived to have it all over and done with I am also sad that this great adventure is ending but I now have my sights set on the future and all the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. Here is my installation which I created for my MA show entitled "The Fragility Of Normality". 



25 Aug 2014

The Roaming Renegades Travel Magazine Project

Finally after month of hard work the first issue of the roaming renegades magazine has been printed and is on sale online in both paperback and e-book versions. Publications have become a massive part of my practice over the past couple of years on my MA and this Roaming Renegades Magazine sets out a marker in my career and development of that. 

the roaming renegades, travel publication, travel, travel blog, layout design, scrapbook, journal, experimental, alternative, modern, new, young, japan, tokyo, budapest, article, dublin, photography, zine, book, publication, magazine,

24 Aug 2014

Double Exposure 35mm URBEX Photography

I recently played around with a new panoramic camera I acquired producing some interesting double exposure images inside a local derelict mill, he I wanted to play with the idea of the multi layered experience and existence of these spaces. 

urbex, double exposure, lomography, film photography, analogue photography, analog photography, photography, experimental, urban exploring, place hacking, hartford mill, oldham, freehold, industrial revolution, mill, factory, abandoned, derelict, exploration, art

Cross Processed 35mm Slide Film Photography

I took the Pentax k1000 back out again and this time got hold of some expired slide film, which was something I hadn't used before but I had done a little digging online and thought it sounded like it could result in some interesting photographs so I was keen to give it a try. 

urbex, urban exploration, situationist, psychogeography, photography, film photography, slide film, cross processed, experimentation, graphic design, strange, derelict, uncanny, abandoned, remnants, fragility,

4 Jul 2014

"The Fragility Of Normality", Testing time exhibition.

I have recently come to a mile stone in my Masters where I am beginning to look at what I could exhibit in the final MA show in October. Ok, it is a little soon you might say but what we have done here is called "Testing time" which is where we try to bring our ideas together to see how we might show them and see how well our practice is working and how it communicates our ideas. Well, here is my offering and I feel it relates quite a lot to the idea of alternative lifestyles and breaking out from that mold of normality. 

the everyday, exploration, urbex, bleached photos, decayed photos, print, photography, ephemera, found objects, installation, urban, city, situationist, guy debord, getting lost on purpose, escape, lifestyle, travel, nomad, question normality, film photography, lomo, lomography, light leaks, double exposure, installation art, intervention, analogue, analoge, destroyed prints, 120mm, 35mm, pentax, diana, exporation, normality, the everyday, uncanny, suppressed memory,

30 Jun 2014

Exploring The Fragility Of Normality and The Everyday. Photographic Experiments.

As the pressure and deadlines at University have began to pile up I have been working towards a mock exhibition in preparation for the MA show in October. I have been experimenting a lot with film photography as well as using the spaces themselves to leave am impression upon the image of itself. I have thought a lot recently also about how my work and my plans for our future escape are beginning to align more and more as I come to the point in which I am ready to make my final statement for my work. 

"They are one-offs, they are chance taking, they are discoveries waiting to be found and they are fragments of the unpredictable and intriguing world most overlook for the reassuring entrapment of normality."   urbex, photography, decay, abandoned, urban, city, normality, entrapment, lifestyle design, double exposure, 35mm, 120mm, black and white, lomo, lomography, expired film, analogue, print, bleach, bleached photos, experiments, art, design, fragments, memory, presence, ghosts, ephemera, normality, the everyday, challenging, escaping, revolution, rising up, work, dreams, life, the city, manchester, fothergills, fothergill and harvey, paul short, nicola hilditch-short, littleborough, rock nook mill, exploring, discovery, narrative, journey,

12 Jun 2014

Seeking Out The Misplace In Your Everyday. Zine Experiment.

Earlier on in my practice development I had created some mock train tickets and used them as an intervention within Manchester. I had also began collecting some images of the train tickets taken by some friends on their travels and it gave me an idea to develop this project further and into a zine entitled "Seeking Out The Misplace In Your Everyday". 

train tickets, zine, intervention, publication, alternative, lifestyle, travel, blog, seeking out the misplace, escaping the everyday, conveyor belt, normality, questioning, extraordinary, traveller, traveler, traveling, travelling, urban, city, ephemera, challenge, experiences, routine, break out, escape, trips, adventure, commute, censorship, fragment, ownership, reality, presence, faded memory, abandoned, urbex, mill, exploration, transform, journey, narrative, individual, modern slavery, entrapment, chains, distraction,

35MM & 120MM Film Photography/ Lomography

Over the past couple of months I have been experimenting with film cameras both colour, black & white, 35mm and 120mm alongside my digital photography. I have taken my film cameras with me on some recent explorations and trips and feel for my final MA outcome the use of analogue photography will be a central component.  
Photography, Lomography, light leaks, film, analog, analogue, 35mm, 120mm, pentax k1000, expired film, manchester, explore, urbex, history, diana, black and white, vintage, hipster, indie, instagram, no filter, experiments, old school, negatives, printing, travel, budapest, wales, pug

23 May 2014

Atmospheric Lomo style URBEX photography.

Continuing on from my explorations last week I wanted to re-look at the images I took to try to really play with the idea of history, atmosphere and the unique experience. As mentioned before I have been taking my film camera out but they are not ready to be developed yet, so this is some experimentation with the types of effects and images I would like to start creating. 

photography, lomo, black and white, texture, film, urbex, exploration, urban decay, derelict, abandoned, adventure, explore, light leaks, damaged photo, atmosphere, experimental, shadows, shades, colour, light, time, history, individual, experience, uncanny, surreal, dream like, real, everyday, fragility, mill, factory, oldham, rochdale, manchester, hartford mill, rock nock mill, pug, misplace

20 May 2014

URBEX Photography. Revisiting old faithful!

As practice 3 gets into full swing at uni I was keen to take some of my new ideas out into explorations, to look more at atmosphere and really capturing the feel of a place. I also felt I had gotten more confident with my photography and after visiting Hartford Mill I was keen to get back up to Fothergills as the weather and light conditions favoured the type of image I wanted to create. 

urbex, photography, black and white, tone, atmosphere, fothergill and harvey, rock nook mill, shadows, narrative, eerie, factory, abandoned, derelict, light, natural light, society, greater Manchester, Littleborough, industrial revolution, ruins, apocalypse, separation, place, explore, adventure,

6 May 2014

BUDAPEST Zine, Remnants Of Memory

I have recently become more and more interested in publishing and layout design along side my travelling and exploration work and after creating a zine for my trip to Japan in October last year and so decided I would continue to develop this side of my work with this Budapest zine. 

Budapest, zine, publication, scrapbook, self published, experience, collage, montage, photographs, rips, travel, journal, guide, airport tickets, stamps, money, coins, fragments, experience, travelling, tourism, independence, lost, seeing, ephemera, passport, memento, Hungary, Budapest, Europe. collected items, souvenir, tickets, metro maps, tram, train, statue, bus, guns, real life, authentic travel,

21 Apr 2014

New Creative CV and Portfolio

I have recently been working on a new creative CV and Portfolio in order to gain some more professional experience and freelance work. I wanted something that really expressed me as a designer and as an individual as my interests and beliefs very much inspire my creative outputs. I wanted something which would communicate my personality and create also some intrigue. 

17 Apr 2014

Photography with my Pug!

I had my camera out yesterday playing around with a few things for uni as well as the 4 film cameras I have acquired for some on going experiments I hope to update you with soon. I decided to get some up to date shots of my little monster/ gremlin Dooku. This dude is not the easiest to photograph, he just jumps about all over the place and tries to scratch the camera!! But here he is!


pugs, pug, mopps, photography, fog, landscape, dog, dogs, silly, cute, hipster, cameras, macro, soft focus,

30 Mar 2014

Observational Drawings and Found Stamps.

Recently I have been playing around with some observational drawings in order to see how another method of image collection effects how the place is captured and how they reflect better the idea of personal interpretation of our environments. 

sketch, manchester, urbex, urban exploration, urban sketching, drawing, moleskine, castlefield, pen, ink, industrial, details, london road, bricks, walls, derelict,

12 Mar 2014

BURO 2. Publication Printing and Lauch

So BURO 2 is out! If you don't know, BURO is a collective publication produced by the MA art and design students at MMU/Manchester School Of Art. BURO 2 centred around the themes we looked at in our context presentations towards the end of last year. My presentation was entitled "Getting Lost On Purpose: Embracing Complexity" which you can read more about on my post here: Contexts Presentation and Lifestyle Revelations

buro, publication, manchester, manchester school of art, ma, design and art direction, D&AD, MMU, getting lost on purpose, zine, publication, censorship, tourism, travel, all inclusive, breaking out, individual, interpretation, freedom, complexity, simplexity, japan, tokyo, hand printed, student, graphic design, fine art,

11 Mar 2014

Rock Nook Mill Photography and Experiments

Recently I feel I have improved a lot with my photography and also progressed a lot with my practice and ideas, I was also keen to get back out and explore some more. So we took a trip back to Rock Nook mill (Fothergill & Harveys) to have another look around, take some photos and look for further experimentation ideas... always scheming! 

urbex, forgotten, remnants, abandoned, lost, found objects, urban exploration, explore, adventure, design, photography, manchester, littleborough, rock nook mill, fothergill and harvey, urban narrative, peeling paint, derelict,

22 Feb 2014

Exploring The City. Observational Photography.

For me the true essence of a place is in the details, in the things that make the place unique, that give it its true character. Manchester is a city I love and am proud to call it home, I love walking to and from University, wandering around the back streets and seeing what I might find. 

London Road fire station, Details, exploring city, close up photography, manchester, urbex, ephemera, urban narrative

21 Feb 2014

Train Tickets Urban Infiltration!

As part of my on going practice and interventions I decided to create a series of train tickets to them distribute in the train stations of Manchester to create a direct message and connection to the city and it's people. 

Intervention art, graphic design, urban art, exploration, question normality, escape the everyday, explore, train tickets, seek the misplace, non place, revolution, graphic design, urbex, urban narrative, see the details

19 Feb 2014

Hijacking Billboards & Fly Posting Messages!

I have been doing a lot of work recently since my last tutorial after realising I was maybe thinking about all this stuff a little too much, planning and procrastinating and needed to take a leap and start making! My first endeavour was to go out into the urban environment and spread my messages and ideas! 

billboard, intervention art, graphic design, question normality, free thinking, escaping the everyday, fly posting, urbex, exploring, exploration art, street signs, no fly posting, no entry, one way,

11 Feb 2014

BURO 2. New Submission.

I've been flat out with assessment work and Christmas this past few weeks I but finally had chance to do something creative again and was excited to look at my submission for the MMU School of Art publication Buro. 
Japan Zine Tokyo graphic design collage travel exploration getting lost on purpose buro

24 Jan 2014

Questioning Normality via Propaganda Banner Intervention!

After my experiments with my fly posting and billboard interventions (Billboards and Fly Posting) I was keen to take it to the next level and make a big statement using a banner. I had aspirations of something much larger, which may be something I go on to do, but this was the test piece to see how those ideas transferred to this presentation. 


banner, protest, red flag, escape the everyday, question normality, urbex, derelict, propaganda, urban, industrial, design and art direction, art, statement, alternative lifestyle

Observational Photography around the city

For me the true essence of a place is in the details, in the things that make the place unique, that give it its true character. Manchester is a city I love and am proud to call it home, I love walking to and from University, wandering around the back streets and seeing what I might find. 

London Road fire station, Details, exploring city, close up photography, manchester, urbex, ephemera, urban narrative

9 Jan 2014

Assessment for MA D&AD!

So yesterday came the day I have been both waiting for a dreading for the past few months... my second major assessment point for my MA, having had my last one all the way back in May and smaller presentation assessment in October. 

Design and Art Direction, D&AD, Graphic Design, Fine Art, MMU, Manchester school of art,

1 Jan 2014

Gruber Garratt Logos and Branding

Logo Experiments.

I have been keen to develop my professional outputs of late as well as working on my main practice and I had a unique opportunity to test out my new found skills, confidence and style by working with my current employers on their re-branding. 


Gruber Garratt, solicitors, lawyers, quality solicitors, letterhead, logos, logo, signprint, sign, type, text, font, green logo, industrial, legal practice, oldham

21 Nov 2013

InBetween Places. My Book!

Recently I have been working on my first book in which I aimed to bring together a lot of the work I have been doing over the last few months to create a document which represents those ideas in a concise and ambiguous fashion. 

Well, here it finally is!!



publication, zine, urbex, abandoned, inbetween places, found objects, ephemera, explore, psychogeorgraphy, manchester, situtationist, abandoned, derelict, hospital, train tickets, windows, urban, wanderings, city, flux, the everyday, question normality, intervention art, graphic design

14 Nov 2013

Mock Newspaper Implanted Into The City!

I have recently been interested in creating some publications and also doing some interventions in public spaces. I felt that both suited the way my work was going and so decided to combine the two and create a newspaper which mocks the fabric and messages of the city. 


Newspaper, publication, zine, self published, mock, tabloid, control, media manipulation, portfolio, graphic design, censorship, intervention, urban environment, everyday city, challenge,

2 Nov 2013

Contexts Presentation & Lifestyle Discussion

I usually try and keep my posts down to a smaller word count but this post is centered around some quite important issues to me and also some revelations I came to whilst working on my recent presentation for University and I felt it was useful to discuss them here as they give some context to my work and blog. I hope you can take the time to have a read through! 

Japan, travel, collage, scrapbook, scan, black and white, travelling, traveling, journey, found object, notes, abstract, fragments, revaluations, questioning normality, revolution, individuals


31 Oct 2013

Hand Printed Tokyo Zine!

Since my last tutorial and my contexts presentation I have began to set myself some deadlines and really started to push my work and start making and doing all those things I have been thinking about. 
The first was to produce a zine which represented my trip to Tokyo and also the ideas about that relating to my contexts presentation. (my unaltered scans which I used for this piece are included with my presentation too.)

Tokyo, Japan, Zine, riso, risograph, screen print, publication, hand made, craft, travelling, traveling, exploration, adventure, travel blog, travel diary, graphic design

11 Oct 2013

No Fly Posters - Printing On Found Objects

The work I did a little earlier on for a submission to the "No Fly Posters" project in Ancoats (http://www.nichilditch-short.co.uk/2014/06/no-fly-posters-project-in-ancoats.html) has over the time since then become an important part of my practice and ideas. I decided to take it a step further and to give it some additional context by printing this onto found objects such as glass and old paper. 
screen print, no fly posters, ancoats, manchester, graphic design, sign painting, industrial revolution, adventure, exploration, urbex, mmu, found objects, ephemera,

5 Oct 2013

Censored Posters Exploring Ownership Of The City

After playing around with some posters ideas I wanted to look at pushing the ideas of ownership of the urban environment a little further. I decided to look at censorship and denial of information along with the cultural and social implications of doing so. 


progaganda, poster, flyer, bill poster, censor, control, city, manchester, abandoned, urbex, exploration, adventure, graphic design, design, freelance, 1984,

4 Oct 2013

Experimenting With Lost Narratives And Fragments Of The City

After creating some pieces for the publication NOUS earlier on in the year I had kind of moved on from there until my tutor suggested I take another look. I began to see past the original intentions for this piece and saw how I had created something which spoke about the ghost like broken narratives left behind in an abandoned buildings through remnants of signage. I decided to  develop this further. 


fragments, messages, traces, ghosts, urban, decay, urbex, abandoned, urban decay, screenprinting,

6 Sept 2013

BURO 1.5 - Screenprints & Postcard Developments

Following on from the work I had done for my BURO 1.5 submission I began to realise as the year went and especially after my contexts presentation that these ideas were much more important for my practice. I decided to develop them further and take those smaller postcards and screenprint them up on to some found substrates from abandoned buildings. 

buro, buro 1.5, mmu, ma, d&ad, school of art, manchester, screenprinting, found objects, details, ephemera, city, urban narrative, postcards, visit manchester,

14 Aug 2013

No Fly Posters project in Ancoats!

I have been on the look out for anything I can get involved in of late looking for both opportunities and inspiration and in this project being ran by Jon Bland in Ancoats I found both. Being in Manchester and relating to street signs it really caught my imagination. 


type, font, text, no fly posters, ancoats, traditional, vintage, grunge, worn down, graphics, graphic design, sign paint, sign, shop, glass, street signs, re-design, manchester, urbex,



27 Jul 2013

Photos Of Photos In Abandoned Factory!

I was back in Fothergills earlier on whilst putting the banner up and decided I would take the opportunity to do a few experiments with some photos I had taken on the previous visit. I wanted to continue from the idea of the glitch photos and an alternative reality and take some photos of photos back in the space to explore that further. 
glitch, photo of photo, photography, inception, false reality, matrix, question normality, what we miss, abandoned, travel, derelict, traces, representation, photoception, urbex, explore, design

11 Jul 2013

Playing Around With Type & Lettering

Recently with the trip to New York and all the arrangement with the wedding going on I haven't had much time to really do anything creative, but after returning I wanted to work on my travel scrapbook and make some little mementos. I felt this would be a great way to get me back into the swing of things for the upcoming University semester and also do something a little different than my practice work. 

Logo, graphic design, type, traditional, modern, classic, industrial, wedding, new york, vintage, scrapbook, travel, gigs, memento,

10 Jul 2013

BURO 1.5 - MMU School Of Art Publication - Submission.

I have again been involved in the development of the publication Buro along with my fellow MA D&AD students. Seeing as it was over the summer period and so we were all quite busy we decided to produce 1.5 as a smaller mini issue based around the idea of "Holidays" which connects to a lot of my interests. 


screenprint, postcard, manchester, buro, buro 1.5, mmu, manchester school of art, publication, self printed, self publicised, zine, urbex, victoria arches, holidays, travel, exploration

Scrapbooking The City...Psychogeography Experiment!

I decided to take a walk around my city with no particular destination in mind and collect interesting objects and photographs to create a new kind of representation of the city. 

scrapbook, ephemera, photography, found objects, urbex, alternative lifestyle, everyday, details, fragments, urban, psychogeography, situationist, the city, Manchester,

20 Jun 2013

QS Gruber Garratt Letterhead.

Letterhead Designs.

This one is a little different to my usual practice but as I am trying to get together my portfolio and develop my professional practice I was grateful of the opportunity to have a go at this.


Gruber Garratt, solicitors, lawyers, quality solicitors, letterhead, logos, logo, signprint, sign, type, text, font, green logo, industrial, legal practice, oldham


CLICK THROUGH:


15 May 2013

NSS Poster competition

As part of my professional and portfolio development I have been looking out for competitions and briefs as well as working on my main practice. I came across this call up to design the National Student Survey poster and felt it was a great opportunity. 

NSS, National Student Survey, competition, 2013, 2014, entry, nus, protest, propaganda, vintage, textured, graphic design, craft, art, be heard
CLICK THROUGH

9 May 2013

Creating Logos As A Graphic Explorer!

I have been focused recently on developing my skills and portfolio and as part of that I wanted to really show off my new found confidence and identity as a "Graphic Explorer". I wanted to almost brand myself and experiment with this definition in a logo format. 


logo, graphic explorer, graphic designer, artist, nautical, texture, wood, cobbles, street, culvert, tunnel, design, type, industrial, modern, traditional, sailor, old school,


1 Apr 2013

Alternative Logos Inspired By The City.

Along with the other logo experiments I have been doing (http://www.nichilditch-short.co.uk/2014/06/creating-logos-as-graphic-explorer.html) I have been looking at some which instead of being more about personal branding are now about creating icon for the city using found features of the city and reflecting it' exploration. 


logo, explore everything, manchester, grunge, badge, vintage, textured, urbex, icon, bee, arrows, banner, derelict, vintage, traditional, escape, everyday

11 Jan 2013

Wedding Gift Commission Design.

I was approached recently to design an emblem to be etched into glass for a wedding gift. This was great for me as I am always looking at new ways to express myself and my style and also gaining more experience as I go. 



Wedding gift, best man gift, engraved, thank you, wedding present, graphic design, design, vintage, retro,
CLICK THROUGH

21 Dec 2012

Disconnection and Re-Connection via Exploration.



I had come across a project being run by a classmate and decided I would produce something for submission. After playing around with some ideas and designs I came up with something that in fact began to mean a lot more to my practice itself and helped me kick start this semester. 

ghost, exploration, abandoned, derelict, asylum, hospital, nous, zine, publication, depression, disconnection, tunnel, urbex, morrissey, graphic design, riso, edit, choppy, lyrics, exploration, details, signage, mmu, manchester, Huddersfield,

30 Nov 2012

BURO Launch!

Finally after much planning, deliberation and discussion we had the launch for our joint publication at Odder Bar in Manchester. It was great to have something in motion for the start of practice two and also have some work published. 
buro, manchester, publication, zine, explore, grunge, graphic design, urbex, victoria arches, texture, details, misplace, summer 2013, mmu, ma, d&ad, post graduate, manchester school of art, travel blog, exploration, censorship, propaganda, riso, prints, printing, design, art,



23 Nov 2012

Propaganda Exploration Poster

I decided to bring together some of the logo work with the photography I had been doing and my wider ideas to create a poster which I felt represented the stage of development my practice was at. I experimented with both screenprinting and the Risograph to get a sense of how this may effect the image. 


poster, riso, screenprint, propaganda, explore, urbex, urban exploring, manchester, arches, place hacking, half tone, urban, black, red, gritty, protest, revolution, graphic design, design, art, travel, adventure, craft

19 Nov 2012

Exploration Logo & Found Objects

I have been interesting in the idea of creating a logo to represent the idea of exploration which brings together the atmosphere, remnants and texture of the urban environment it is inspired by. I decided to take this a little further by then screenprinting that logo onto objects found in the city. 


logo, graphic design, explore, fragment, screen print, half tone, design, urbex, tile, experiment, mmu, arrow, fragments, details, urban, exploration, travel, adventures, history, letterpress, found objects,


10 Nov 2012

Alternative Tagging around Manchester

After playing around in the Letterpress studio for the last few weeks I thought it might make an interesting experiment to look at an alternative form of "Tagging" using luggage tags to connect to the idea of interaction, history and craft as opposed to vandalism. 

urban intervention, urbex, manchester, tag, tagging, luggage tag, letterpress, explore, alternative, street art, urban, city, history, craft, craftivism, activism, socialism, control, propaganda, sanctioned messages. design, graphic design,

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