Repetition & Process with Jenn Garrison

This Artist Feature is generously sponsored by McColl Center, a nationally recognized contemporary art space in Uptown Charlotte.

In a quiet studio on her South Carolina family farm, printmaker Jenn Garrison carves her way through woodblocks like pages in a visual diary. Each cut serves a purpose. Each shape is a conversation between pattern, texture, and memory.

The natural rhythm of land and life echoes in the repetitive motions of carving and printing. "Printmaking is an art form that, for me, is as much about the process of making the blocks as it is about the final image," she says.

Before Jenn picks up her carving tools, she’s already drawn the image at least three times. Her printmaking process begins with a sketch on grid paper, which she then enlarges and transfers to the wood using carbon paper. Lastly, she traces the design in Sharpie. “Other artists use different methods,” she says, “but this allows me to get to know my design.”

A woodblock next to its grid paper sketch.

"I was hooked from the first cut."

Jenn fell in love with the medium in college after enrolling in an introductory course and graduated a few years later with a BFA in printmaking. She then transitioned to working in a textile design department. Her printmaking training naturally primed her for the process-oriented work. There, she discovered a love of vintage textiles and patterns that still inform her visual language today. But between career and kids, her personal practice fell dormant.

A block mid-carve. You can see areas in green on the left that must be carved out to match the right side.

In 2018, Jenn picked up her carving tools and began cutting again. She had signed up to print with BIG INK, a mobile printmaking project that travels the country with a large-format printing press, giving artists a rare opportunity to print blocks up to 4 x 8 feet. “That was the first woodcut I had done for several years,” she recalls, “and it started me back on my journey with printmaking.”

Jenn has printed with BIG INK seven times since that first encounter and their connection has rippled outward in some wonderful ways.

Jenn printing at BIG INK Nashville.

That same year, she launched the beloved roaming event Queen City Zine Fest (QCZF) alongside her son, illustrator Kenneth Raudales, and artist friend Micah Cash. “One of my goals in starting zinefest was to meet other printmakers,” Jenn says. “There is a decent overlap between printmakers and zine makers. Both mediums are analog, and show the hand of the artist."

Inspired by zinefests they had attended throughout North Carolina, Jenn wanted to bring that energy, creative cross-pollination, and community to Charlotte. In doing so, they created a home for DIY publishing, low-cost prints, experimental voices, and a genuine community vibe.

Jenn at her QCZF vendor table.

In 2023, McColl Center hosted BIG INK and QCZF as part of a collaborative weekend that celebrated the art of printmaking. “It was energetic, fun, artistic,”Jenn says. “We’re doing it again in October 2025.”

Queen City Zine Fest will take place at McColl Center on October 18. Attendees can expect a curated showcase of zines, comics, illustrations, chapbooks, and more from local and neighboring zine publishers. Applications for vendors open up soon. For updates, follow @queencityzinefest on Instagram.

BIG INK's Big Tuna mobile press will roll in the same weekend. Registration for BIG INK is open right now, and you'll want to get started soon because the whole point is to print on a massive scale (from 24x36 to 40x96 inches). First, you carve a design at home following BIG INK’s online masterclass. Then, you'll meet the BIG INK team at McColl Center to print your finished carving.

As the host for both events again this fall, McColl Center continues a 25-year tradition of investing in artists and creative experimentation.

Jenn with her BIG INK woodblock at McColl Center in 2023.

Jenn with her giant print at McColl Center in 2023.

Each of Jenn’s prints is pulled by hand, using a personal library of 20 to 30 woodblocks she’s carved. They range in size from tiny 2x2-inch cuts to full-scale compositions measuring 36x48 inches. Some blocks are quick studies finished in an hour, while others take more than 20 hours of focused work. “Sharp tools are essential,” she notes.

Once carved, the blocks will be continually reused and recombined in a living encyclopedia of shape, color, and form. Each is part of a visual vocabulary Jenn has developed through years of repetition and presence. Her prints reflect how she views the world: through pattern, rhythm, and layered experience. “The carving becomes a meditative process," she says, "and I just cut along the lines.”

When asked about her favorite career moments, Jenn references a group show at McColl Center curated by Emily Berger in 2024, entitled Splinter & Seed, that helped cast her work in a new light. “She hung the woodblock alongside each print,” Jenn recalls. “It was very powerful to see the block and the printed image side by side.”

In addition to her studio practice, Jenn teaches printmaking at McColl Center, sharing her devotion of the medium with others through workshops and classes.

I think it's the analog value of Jenn's process that pulls me in. There are no shortcuts and no automation. It takes the time it takes. Her studio is a place where memory and material evolve together. And where a hand pull of paper reveals an imprint of humanity, left behind like a fossil in stone.

Jenn has a solo show open at The Artisan's Palate, a restaurant and gallery all in one, now through the end of June. On July 12, her work will debut in a printmaking exhibition with Brian Bojanowski at Luca Studio and Gallery in Fort Mill, SC. You can also find her artwork for sale at Fresh Produce, a homegrown boutique at Camp North End operated by DUPP&SWAT.

By Alexandra Smith